


New World

by Maria_smith



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII, final - Fandom
Genre: Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-16
Updated: 2019-01-26
Packaged: 2019-10-11 09:53:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 31
Words: 82,602
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17444642
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maria_smith/pseuds/Maria_smith
Summary: With some encouragement from Rufus, the WRO arrange for the demolition of the remaining mako reactors. As soon as our heroes embark on their mission, they are met with a series of bizarre occurrences suggesting there are people out there trying to prevent them from completing their task.





	1. Chapter 1

The sun was setting over the Healing Lodge by the time Reeve arrived. This was his first visit since the fall of Shinra and he was surprised by how much it had changed. It was once a resort for Shinra employees on holidays or stress leave, but after the meteor incident Rufus used it as a healing center for those infected with geo stigma. Once the geo stigma was cured, a little over two years ago, many of the infected people left the healing center to rebuild their lives while others stayed making it their new home. Over time, the lodge had grown into a small self-sufficient and vibrant town called Healen that was built around the original Shinra Cliff Resort. Since the resort was located along a cliff, many of the homes also rested along the cliffside and were interconnected by various bridges, ramps, and staircases. The town even used the waterfall for hydro-electrical power. Being a former urban developer, Reeve was impressed with the small town and wondered how many engineers Rufus had hired to assist with its construction.

But the Healen Hospital was the pride of the town and was considered the best hospital on the planet. It was a massive five story hospital built into the side of the cliff, it was equipped with the latest technology and first-class service. It even had its own helicopter to transport critically ill patients and was known for providing free treatment to anyone in need. Reeve supported Rufus' idea of universal healthcare and ensured that any medical student attending the college in Junon would be required to complete part of their internship at the hospital to help offset the cost of doctors.

Reeve chuckled inwardly; just four years ago Rufus Shinra and the Turks were some of the most feared people on the planet, and now they run a charity organization. To this day the name Shinra still stirred negative emotions in most corners of the globe, but in this town Rufus and his team were considered savours who helped those in need. Rufus had a huge debt to pay for what his company did to the planet, and he appeared to be making good on his promise to atone for his sins.

Reeve walked up the long wooden staircase leaning to the front door of the lodge, now the mayor's office. He knocked twice before entering. He looked around as he walked into the main room and noticed the old Shinra company logo sign still hanging on the wall; a reminder of the past. The old lodge had hardly changed since Reeve stayed there years ago, apart from the addition of a few more desks and computers.

On the other side of the room, Rufus was sitting alone at the biggest desk writing. Realizing someone had entered, Rufus shifted his attention away from his work and looked up at Reeve with a somewhat surprised expression.

"Good evening commissioner," the blond greeted him.

"Good evening Mayor," Reeve replied.

"To what do I owe this pleasure?" Rufus asked with a grin.

Reeve took a file from under his arm and placed it on Rufus' desk before sitting down in the empty chair in front him.

Rufus looked at the files and shook his head. "I keep telling you, I don't need these," Rufus informed his friend. "The money I gave you was a donation, not an investment. You are not accountable to me."

"I want you to see how we are putting your donation to good use," Reeve explained. "Plus, being accountable to you will keep me on the right track. Anyone has the potential of becoming corrupt with too much power."

Rufus laid down his pen and sat back in his chair. "I know you didn't come all this way just to give me your quarterly report. So, why the personal visit?"

Normally, Reeve would just pass his reports on to one of the Turks, despite Rufus insisting that they were not necessary.

"I just wanted to go over the plans for next week," Reeve explained. "We'll start with the Fort Condor reactor, then Corel and Mt. Nibel. We plan on demolishing the Mt. Nibel and Condor reactors completely. The Coral reactor core will be dismantled, and the remaining structure will be retrofitted as an oil refinery."

"What about Junon?" Rufus inquired.

"That's another issue I wanted to discuss with you," Reeve explained as he shifted in his seat. "The Junon College has requested to use the underwater reactor as a laboratory for ocean research. If you agree, we plan on dismantling the reactor and donating the underwater observatory for educational purposes."

With the destruction of Midgar, Junon became the new capital city under Reeve and the WRO. The city now housed the World Regenesis Organization's main headquarters and had grown into an intellectual and financial powerhouse. After meteor, Reeve used equipment from Junon to help build Edge. He also helped the citizens of Junon turn it from a military city into an eco-friendly progressive community with the largest college on the planet, since the one in Midgar was destroyed. To assist Reeve, Rufus donated all the Shinra property in Junon to the WRO so it had everything it needed including a fully functional headquarters. Even with the collapse of the Shinra Electrical Power Company, Reeve knew Rufus was financially secure. The Shinra family had secret accounts in various cities, stockpiles of gold and silver, along with several properties that Rufus sold after the economy strengthened under the WRO. He donated a generous amount of money to the WRO because he trusted Reeve and knew he had the best intentions for the planet.

The only thing Rufus asked in return was to put his Turks on the WRO payroll. The Turks were a family, and Rufus wanted to ensure that if something happened to him, they would stay together and work for WRO. Reeve honored his condition without hesitation, it was a small request considering how much Rufus had done for the WRO. Not to mention, there were times when it benefited the WRO to have access to people like the Turks.

"You can do whatever you want with the underwater laboratory," Rufus shrugged as he leaned back in his chair. "As long as the reactors are inoperable, I don't care what you do with the remaining structures. The only thing I ask is that you destroy any technology you find relating to mako production, the Jenova project, and Hojo's research."

Reeve nodded in agreement. "You are not the only one looking forward to this mission," he commented, sensing Rufus eagerness to have this mission completed. "It will bring closure to a lot of people."

"Yes," Rufus agreed. "As I said, it should have been done years ago."

Reeve was just about to stand when he suddenly stopped. "Do you have the schematics for the Coral reactor?" he asked, having just remembered. "It would help us with the reconstruction."

Rufus nodded. "I will check to see if the plans are amongst the salvaged files," he explained, unsure if they were there. "I have been meaning to go through them, but we've been so busy with other priorities. If they are there, I'll forward them along."

"Thanks," Reeve said as he turned to walk away. He only took one step when he suddenly stopped and looked back at Rufus while pulling a piece of paper out of his pocket. "Oh, there is one other thing. We have been experiencing some problems with WRO employees disappearing or murdered." Reeve walked back and placed the paper on Rufus’ desk. "Fifteen are missing; all of them peacekeepers and engineers assigned to the Corel reconstruction project. More recently, an engineer and a scientist were found dead last week in Edge. I was hoping you could ask them to look—"

"Tseng is already aware of your dilemma and is looking into it," Rufus interrupted. "So far they haven't found anything you don't already know. Is it possible the recent homicides and Corel disappearances are not related and just a coincidence?"

"It could be," Reeve agreed. He was thinking the same thing because the recent murder victims had nothing to do with the reactor project, unlike the disappearances from Corel. The only thing really linking them was that they all involved WRO employees.

Reeve had a bad feeling about the disappearances; the last time people went missing like this Deepground first came to the surface from underneath the Shinra building. However, as far as he knew, Deepground was destroyed a little over a year ago.

"If they uncover any information, you will be advised immediately."

"I will keep you updated on our progress next week," Reeve said, finally turning to leave.

"I have no doubt you will," Rufus commented as Reeve exited through the door.

 

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

The morning sun had just started shining through the bedroom window when Cloud awoke in a cold sweat. The light aggravated his headache, so he opened his eyes slowly to help them adjust. After a few seconds, his eyes adjusted but the ponding migraine lingered as he slowly sat up in bed. He looked at the alarm clock and noticed that it was a little past eight. Cloud looked over next to him to see Tifa sleeping with her back to him. Sleeping in was unusual for her; normally she was the first person up and would have breakfast ready before anyone else was even out of bed.

Cloud wondered if he kept Tifa up all night. For the past few weeks he had been having restless, and often sleepless, nights. When he did sleep, he would often wake up suddenly in a cold sweat. Lately, many of his dreams were just old memories of his time as a grunt soldier working for Shinra and others of his time fighting Sephiroth. The only memories he was unsure of were the ones involving Zack. Many of the dreams involving his old friend were unfamiliar to him but he assumed they were just supressed memories from a period in his life he had forgotten.

Suddenly, the pain in his head started to intensify. These headaches were a common occurrence lately and varied in severity, but never lasted too long. The last time he had headaches like these was when he was hunting Sephiroth, but those were always followed by voices in his head or flashbacks. He hoped this was not a sign he was going to have a mental breakdown again.

Cloud closed his eyes and laid back down until the pain subsided. He looked over at Tifa who was still sleeping next to him. Cloud rarely got the opportunity to see Tifa sleeping so peacefully like this. She was usually up before him in the mornings, and when he would suddenly awake in the middle of the night, she would already be up to comfort him. Tifa was the shining beacon of light in his dark soul hunted by memories. He had been in love with her since they were children and would never want to do anything to hurt her. Although they had feelings for one another for a long time, they didn't act them until the night under the Highwind before they went to fight Sephiroth. It was one of the happiest moments of his life and they have been together since. That night, despite being surrounded by death and uncertainty, nothing mattered to him except being with the woman he loved. He wanted to spend every waking moment with her for as long as she wanted him by her side. The only exception was when he was infected with geo stigma and he distanced himself from Tifa and his friends. During that time, he was so consumed with darkness he didn't stop to think about what he was doing to everyone around him, especially Tifa. He regretted this and promised himself to never hurt her like that again.

Realizing his headache was gone, Cloud slowly got out of bed—careful not to wake Tifa—and went downstairs. As he walked into the empty kitchen, not a sound could be heard meaning everyone else was still sleeping.

Cloud went over to the fridge and retrieved the eggs. It was usually Tifa who did the cooking in the mornings, but Cloud was no stranger to the kitchen. He cracked some eggs into a bowl and started to beat them.

Cloud took a moment to savour the peace and quiet. They had a full house visiting and he knew it would not be long before everyone was up. He didn't mind all the people though; they were all family to him.

As Cloud cooked, the smell of breakfast stirred some commotion upstairs followed by the sound of footsteps heading his way.

Marlene walked into the kitchen. "Good morning Cloud," she said as she walked over to the fridge, pulling out the juice and laying it on the table.

"Morning Marlene," Cloud replied as he put some cooked eggs and toast on a plate for her.

Marlene walked over to a drawer and took out the cutlery setting the table. After she finished the place setting, she sat down in front of her breakfast.

"Thanks, Cloud," she said before digging in.

A few minutes later, Denzel walked into the kitchen rubbing his eyes, still looking half-asleep. "Morning," he said as he walked over to the table and flopped himself down in the chair.

Cloud dished him up a plate and laid it in front of him. Then, Cloud sat down at the table with his own plate of food and poured a glass of juice for himself and Denzel.

The three ate their breakfast in silence until Shelke walked into the room with a smile on her face.

"Good morning everyone," she greeted the three. She walked over to the table and poured herself some juice.

"Breakfast?" Cloud asked as she sat at the table.

"Thanks, but I'm not hungry right now," she replied. "Maybe in a little."

"Papa's coming home today, right?" Marlene asked Cloud, finally looking up from her plate.

Cloud nodded. "He should be," he informed the young girl.

"When do you leave?" Marlene asked.

Before Cloud could reply, he was distracted by a loud thump coming from the second floor followed by the sound of fast footsteps marching down the stairs.

"Mornin'!" Yuffie shouted as she walked into the kitchen. "Mmmm, that smells good. What's for breakfast?" she asked the group.

Before Cloud could answer, Yuffie spotted the pan of scrambled eggs. She walked over and made herself a plate, then quietly sat at the table next to Shelke and started scarfing down her food.

"I think we are heading out tomorrow," Cloud informed Marlene, finally answering her question.

A disappointed look appeared on the young girl's face.

"Where's Tifa?" Yuffie mumbled as she looked around with her mouth full of cooked eggs.

"Sleeping," Could answered before taking a sip of his juice.

Suddenly, their breakfast was interrupted by the sound of the phone ringing. Cloud was about to stand up and answer it, but it only rang twice before stopping. He figured either the caller hung up or Tifa must have answered it upstairs.

After a minute or two they could hear footsteps coming down the stairs and Tifa walked into the kitchen still looking a little tired.

"Good morning," Tifa greeted everyone with a big smile. She sat down in the last available seat at the head of the table.

Cloud walked over to the stove and fixed Tifa a plate of food before bringing it to her.

"Thank you Cloud, this looks delicious," Tifa complimented him while pouring herself a glass of juice. She took a few bites of her breakfast and looked over at Marlene. "I just got off the phone with your father," she informed the young girl. "He said that they are due to arrive at noon."

A smile appeared on Marlene's face. "Can we go meet him?" she asked, looking from Tifa to Cloud.

Cloud nodded causing Marlene's smile to grow wider. She finished the last few bites of her breakfast and stood up from the table with her plate.

"I'm going to go get ready," Marlene explained. She put her plate in the sink and exited the kitchen.

"How long will you be away?" Denzel asked Tifa, looking up from his breakfast. He was starting to appear a little more alert.

"I'm not sure," Tifa answered, laying her fork down. "I guess for as long as it takes to finish the job. I think only a few days, but we should know more after our meeting."

Denzel gazed down at his plate, looking a little disappointed.

"Don't worry Denzel, you have Shelke and I here to look after you," Yuffie reassured the young boy, trying to cheer him up.

Although Yuffie had been a member of the WRO for almost four years, she had to stay in Edge for business and offered to help Shelke look after the Seventh Heaven and the children. Yuffie was unwilling to provide the others with details of her assignment, apart from saying it involved a WRO airship that recently went missing and was believed to been an inside job. Cloud had a feeling that whatever she was doing was also related to the two homicides that occurred last week. It was hard for Cloud to picture someone like Yuffie working a desk job, but he was assured by Cid and the others that Yuffie was surprisingly professional in her position and was skilled at her job. He was not surprised to hear about the skilled part, what a better person to catch liars and lawbreakers within the WRO than the master manipulator herself. When they first met her, at only sixteen years old, she infiltrated their group and convinced them to travel to Wutai so she could steal their materia.

"You are going to have loads of fun with aunty Yuffie!" she exclaimed to the boy.

After Yuffie's reassuring words, a faint smile appeared on Denzel's face.

No longer able to sleep through Yuffie's high pitched voice, Nanaki strolled into the kitchen. He had been staying with Cloud and Tifa for the last week. It wasn't uncommon for him to visit for a few days or weeks while passing through during his travels.

After finishing her food, Yuffie grabbed her phone off the table. "We should text Vincent to make sure he knows what time to meet everyone," she informed Shelke. Being around the same age, Shelke and Yuffie had become good friends over the last few months. Yuffie's outgoing and cheerful personality had appeared to have a positive effect on Shelke.

"I thought he was receiving a ride from Cid," Shelke informed Yuffie, causing the young ninja to stop texting on her phone, looking a little disappointed. She laid the PHS on the table and proceeded to take her plate over to the sink.

After everyone was finished eating breakfast, they all left the 7th Heaven and walked through Edge towards the airfield located on the outskirts of the city. It was located a little north of Jonny's Heaven. Luckily for Jonny, having the airfield nearby brought much needed customers to his outdoor establishment.

The group did not wait in the airfield for long before the Shera landed, and the doors opened. Marlene was jumping up and down with excitement before anyone even exited the aircraft.

After the doors opened some of the crew disembarked followed by Reeve, Cid, Barret, Vincent and a man Cloud did not recognize. The unknown man was around Cloud's age, maybe a few years older, with short dark brown hair, brown eyes, and glasses. He was wearing a white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up and brown dress pants.

As soon as she saw her father exit the aircraft, Marlene rushed up and jumped into Barret's arms.

"Hello sweetie," Barret said, giving her a big hug.

"Hello," Reeve greeted his friends as he approached. "I would like you to meet Miles," he motioned towards the stranger. "He is a specialist who has volunteered for the mission."

"Hello," Miles greeted everyone with a wave of his hand. He seemed a little nervous, but the large group greeted him back with a smile.

Everyone was conversing and catching up when Reeve looked at his watch. "I am sorry to break this up everyone, but I have booked the conference room for one PM."

Yuffie, Shelke, Marlene, Nanakin, and Denzel said their goodbyes and went back to 7th Heaven while the rest proceeded towards the WRO building. The WRO's main headquarters was in Junon but it had satellite offices in Midgar and Corel, the second and third largest cities. Their Edge location was the second largest, and although it was technically an army, they also provided police and judiciary services to the city. Unlike Junon, Edge had yet to form a functioning government so the WRO filled the void for the time being.

It didn't take long for the group to walk across town towards the WRO building. They went inside and gathered around the conference table with Reeve standing at the head.

"I know most of you have volunteered for this mission, but the reason I requested your participation is because you all have a working knowledge of the targets and the risks associated." Reeve paused and looked around the group before continuing. "I have been assured that all the reactors were turned off two years ago, so they no longer drain Mako. This means there should be very few monsters left around the target areas."

"What kinda risks are we lookin' at besides some goddamn monsters?" Cid interrupted. He was also aware of the strange occurrences going on lately and wanted Reeve to lay it all out on the table now, so everyone was aware.

"Some of you probably heard the rumours," Reeve explained. "This might be unrelated but some of the WRO members who were working on the Corel reactor project have been disappearing and another two employees were found murdered here in Edge a little over a week ago. We currently have no information on who is responsible or if the two incidents are related."

"Disappearances?" Cloud whispered. "Sounds familiar..."

"It can't be Deepground," Barret added, knowing what Cloud was referring to. "We took 'em down a year ago."

Reeve nodded in agreement. "We have no reason to believe it is Deepground at this point," he explained. "Since the disappearances are limited to just over a dozen WRO members working on the Corel project, there could be a number of explanations if there's even a connection."

"Who or what else could be responsible?" Tifa asked Reeve.

The WRO had been experiencing a lot of challenges over the past few months including thefts, murders, and disappearances. Not to mention the fact that, being an army, there were some people who oppose their operation.

"Well, there are some people in Corel who oppose the idea of a reactor being turned into an oil refinery, and there are others who oppose the WRO in general," Miles explained, coming to Reeve's defence. "Not to mention that Corel is a high-density area for monsters, that could also explain the disappearances."

Reeve nodded to Miles and scanned the group to see if there were any more questions before he continued briefing them. "The first target is Fort Condor and it should be straightforward. We sweep the reactor to ensure there are no occupants, then we arm it with explosives and detonate it. Since there are no towns or villages nearby, we don't have to worry about creating a controlled explosion."

"What 'bout them people livin' in Fort Condor?" Barret questioned.

"The WRO intelligence division informed me that the people cleared out of Fort Condor shortly after the battle with Shinra," Reeve explained. "But there is always the possibility that people could be occupying it. That is why we are going to conduct a sweep beforehand and relocate anyone who may be living there."

Reeve paused to see if there were any further questions before continuing.

"The next stop is Junon. We are going to dismantle the reactor manually in order to preserve the underwater laboratory for scientific research. This will be a much longer process, but I have a team of engineers who can tend to this project while the rest of you head over to Corel to assist Barret and Miles with their plans. After Corel, the rest of you will head Mt. Nibel and destroy it like Fort Condor." Reeve paused and looked around the room again. "Any questions?"

"Why are we even blowin' up the Nibelheim and Condor reactors if they're shut down?" Cid asked.

"If we don't destroy the reactors anyone can walk in there and use them for nefarious purposes," Reeve explained. "The ability to draw mako from the plant can be tempting for a person or group seeking large amounts of mako."

Mako had been such a touchy subject lately, all cities banned the production of new materia. People were still able to use and sell materia that was created before the fall of Shinra, as well as naturally occurring materia, but the demand had made it a very expensive and it was becoming a rare commodity. It was also a growing fear that as materia became scarcer it would drive black market demand and criminal organizations might target reactors for production.

"Shouldn't we try to salvage any useable equipment from the reactors before we demolish them?" Miles asked, half raising his hand like he was a student in class.

"We have all the equipment we need for the Corel and Junon projects," Reeve explained. "But if you find anything that could prove useful for your research, feel free to take it. Anything we find relating to Jenova, or any projects relating to Hojo or Hollander, must be destroyed."

Everyone nodded in agreement on that last point, they all wanted to see anything relating to Jenova destroyed.

"If there are no further questions, we will meet back here at nine-hundred hours tomorrow," Reeve explained, concluding the conference.

After the meeting, Tifa invited everyone back to the 7th Heaven for dinner and drinks. It had been a long time since everyone was together. Tifa's bar was rarely this full but it always had a good flow of customers. Some would come to drink and others liked it as a place to socialize with friends while grabbing a bite to eat.

There were a few regulars at the bar that night, but they didn't seem to mind the large group. Almost everyone in Edge knew who Tifa and Cloud were. Half the city witnessed Cloud slay the Behomut that Kadage summoned so he was a bit of a celebrity around town. Although very few people in Edge knew what Cloud, Tifa, and the others did for the planet by stopping Sephiroth and Shina, many citizens could see that they helped others in need.

Cloud and Cid sat at the bar along with two regulars while Barret, Marlene, Reeve, and Miles sat in a booth nearby. Vincent was sitting by himself in the next booth over until Shelke, Denzel, and Yuffie decided to sit with him forcing him into a conversation. This prompted Nanaki, who was lying on the floor next to Vincent, to get up and walk over next to Cloud where it was a little more peaceful. He then curled up in the corner while letting out a big sigh and closed his eyes.

Later that evening, Reno and Rude walked into the bar and stood near the front entrance looking around. Cloud was not that surprised to see the two, it was not uncommon for them to stop in for a few drinks when they were in town. Rude walked over to the bar while Reno stood at Barret's table conversing. Seeing Rude approach, Tifa poured them their regulars; a double scotch and a beer.

"Thanks," Rude said as he laid the gil down on the bar next to Cloud and took the drinks.

Without saying a word, Cloud nodded to the bald Turk who nodded back.

Seeing his partner approach, Reno walked over to a free booth by the entrance and slumped himself down. Reeve then excused himself from Barret's table and walked over to the Turk's booth to sit down with them. Cloud was not trying to spy but he noticed Rude pull a big brown envelope out of his jacket and hand it over to Reeve. Reeve accepted the package and put it next to him on the table. They talked for a bit and the two Turks exited after finishing their drinks.

With the envelope in hand, Reeve got up from the booth and walked over to the bar with Cid, Cloud, and Tifa. He took a seat next to Cloud and leaned on the bar so Cid could hear him over all commotion.

"Reno and Rude said they spotted lights coming from the Fort Condor reactor on their way here from Junon," Reeve informed them.

"I thought you said the reactor was deactivated years ago and everyone left," Cid commented before leaning back and taking the last swig of his beer.

Tifa reached over and grabbed Cid's glass to refill his drink.

"That's what I was told," Reeve informed the captain. "But they said most of the lights were moving around the hillside, they suspected that it was people with flashlights. When they circled around to get a closer look, all the lights were off except one shining through the window of the lookout shack on top. They said it was too dark to make out anything else."

"Then there must be people still living there," Tifa commented as she refilled Cloud's water.

Cloud and Tifa were the only two not drinking. Cloud was never much of a drinker to begin with and wasn't feeling up to drinking that night.

"I sent someone there two weeks ago and they said it was completely abandoned," Reeve explained. "They even interviewed people in a nearby village and confirmed our intel. The villagers said that after the battle with Shinra the men left the fort and went back to their families since there was no longer a condor egg to protect."

"Maybe they were just raiders," Cloud suggested. "They could be gone by morning."

After the fall of Shinra is was common for people to loot the equipment, supplies, and valuables from all the abandoned and demolished buildings.

"Perhaps you're right," Reeve agreed with Cloud before taking the last sip of his sake. Reaching for his glass, Tifa looked at Reeve who nodded in approval prompting her to refill his drink.

It was past midnight when everyone finally departed for the night. Barret owned an apartment in Edge for himself and Marlene to stay in when he was in town. Even though it was late Marlene did not want to leave his side, so he took her back with him. Since there was limited space at Cloud and Tifa's place, Vincent went with Barret to say in his spare room. Reeve also had his own place in Edge, so he took Miles and Cid to his apartment while everyone else went upstairs to bed.

It was a long day and Cloud was tired. He looked forward to his bed, especially getting into bed with Tifa. After he was cured of geo stigma, they decided to sleep together once she forgave him for his selfishness. After that, he always made sure to get into bed first, so he could watch Tifa undress. She was the most beautiful woman he had even seen, and he knew he was lucky to have her. Growing up, every boy had a crush on Tifa and as a child he was treated like an outcast by all the other boys. Cloud chuckled inwardly; they would be so envious if they could see him now.

Tifa grinned at Cloud as he laid in bed with his arms propped behind his head watching her every move; she knew he enjoyed watching her undress every night. Cloud knew Tifa was a little self-conscious about the scar on her chest, but she did not mind Cloud seeing it. Even with the scar, Cloud thought Tifa had a perfect body, but it did remind him of the time he could not be there to save her in time. He promised to never let that happen again.

Cloud had been feeling uneasy the last few weeks with the headaches and nightmares. He was hoping the uneasiness was due to the upcoming mission and thinking about Shinra and the Mt. Nibel reactor; the source of many of his nightmares. It was in that reactor where Tifa received her scar and witnessed her father's murder. It was in that reactor that him and Zack were taken prisoner and experimented on for years. It was in that reactor where he battled Sephiroth for the first time as a teenager and almost lost his life. Despite all the recent negative thoughts and feelings, he was determined to not let it get to him. After geo stigma Cloud made a promise to himself that he would never again let anything get in the way of enjoying his time with his family and the woman he loved.

Watching Tifa undress in front of him, Cloud could not control himself. He sat up in the bed, then reached out and grabbed her hand, pulling her in before she had a chance to put on her pajamas. Taking the hint, Tifa smiled as they proceeded to caress each other and make love before falling asleep in a tight embrace.


	3. Chapter 3

It was early when Cloud and Tifa left the 7th Heaven to load Fenrir onto the airship and meet up with the others. It did not take long for Barret to arrive after dropping Marlene off at the bar. With everyone accounted for, they all boarded the Shera and took off towards Fort Condor.

Cid, Vincent, Barret, Cloud, Reeve, Tifa, and Miles all gathered on the bridge of the airship to go over the plans. Cid was flying the airship, so they all stood near the controls while Reeve addressed them.

"We should split up into groups," Reeve suggested. "Miles and Vincent will survey the reactor while Barret and I set the explosives. At the same time, Cid, Tifa, and Cloud can check the fort underneath for occupants. If we happen to find any people in or around the reactor, we will inform them of our plans and offer to transport them to Junon with us. If they don't want to go back with us, we need to ensure they evacuate the blast site. If everything goes as planned, we should be in Junon by dinner time."

It did not take long for them to reach their destination. The Shera landed near the fort, just outside the blast zone, and everyone but a few crew members exited the ship. As the group approached the fort, nothing appeared out of the ordinary and there were no signs of life.

Miles and Vincent walked towards the back of the fort so they could reach the reactor from the hillside. Barret, Reeve, and two crew members followed the two towards the reactor carrying the explosives and blasting supplies. Meanwhile, Cid, Cloud and Tifa walked towards the front entrance of the fort.

Since the reactor was deactivated, there was no power or lights inside the fort. Cloud, Tifa, and Cid climbed up the rope ladder into the darkness above. All three pulled out flashlights to survey the room.

"It doesn't look like anyone is here," Cid observed as he looked around.

"We should check every room to be sure," Tifa added.

"There should be a ladder going down in the top right corner of the room," Cloud said pointing his flashlight towards the ladder leading down to the room under them. "And there are two rope ladders leading to the rooms above."

They were all familiar with the layout of the fort having spent a few days there helping the rebels fight Shinra years ago.

"Let's start with the room where Reno and Rude spotted the light last night," Tifa suggested, shining her flashlight towards the rope ladder closest to them.

Tifa knew the lookout would be bright since it had a window and she was rushing to get this over with as quickly as possible. The room they were in was dark, damp, and had an earthy smell that was starting to bother her. She had been in Fort Condor many times before, but this was the first time the smell was making her stomach turn. She knew the lookout above would have fresher air.

"Let's check it out," Cid said as he walked towards the rope ladder using his flashlight to lead the way.

The three made their way up the tunnel to the room above that was essentially a wooden shack located on top of the fort. It was used as a lookout when the rebels were fighting battles against the Shinra. The lookout provided lots of natural light, so the flashlights were not needed and the fresh air blowing in was a godsend for Tifa.

Tifa breathed a sigh of relief trying to take in as much fresh air as she could. "It doesn't look like anyone was up here," she said, looking around.

The room looked exactly how Tifa remembered it. She walked over to the window and looked out down the hill. She could see Vincent and Miles still hiking up the deep slope towards the reactor on top.

"We should move on," Cloud told the two before turning towards the ladder.

The three exited the room making their way back down inside the fort. When they entered the darkness, all three turned back on their flashlights and followed Cloud towards the next rope ladder leading to a room above.

By the time they climbed the ladder and entered the room, the smell was starting to bother Tifa again. She tried breathing through her mouth to see if it would help but it just resulted in her tasting the mildewed air, making it so much worse. She was determined to not let it get to her and forced back the nausea. She looked around the room with her flashlight and remembered that this room was once an item shop where the rebels sold weapons and materia. She doubted there were any supplies remaining after the place was abandoned.

"There's not a damn person in this place," Cid stated, shining his light around the dark empty room.

"We just have one more room to check," Cloud advised. 

The three made their way back down to the main room and followed Cloud towards the far back corner. The last room was below them and they had to be careful where they stepped, making sure not to miss the ladder sticking out of a hole in the ground.

Tifa's nausea was worsening and she was starting to feel hot and sweaty. It felt as if she had walked into a sauna. Working by the faint glow of her flashlight, she followed Cloud and Cid down the ladder.

The room they entered was the most familiar, having used it many times to rest when they were traveling years ago. As soon as Tifa entered the room, she was hit with a pungent smell. The air was thicker and had a copper smell to it. She immediately recognised it as blood, it was a horrible odour, but this was the first time it had ever bothered her this much. She tried limiting her breathing to just her noise or mouth to overcome the smell and taste, but nothing worked. Her stomach was starting to turn more, she was using every ounce of her strength to fight her nausea.

She could hear Cloud and Cid talking next to her, but she was unable to concentrate on a single word they were saying. Her legs were starting to become weak, so she went searching for a wall to support herself. As she walked, she had to muster all her strength in order to force her legs not to give out. Knowing a wall was nearby, she reached out her hand trying to feel for it while clenching her flashlight tight in the other. When Tifa's hand made contact the dirt wall, it felt cold and wet. Instantly, she knew something was wrong. She immediately took her hand off the wall and shined her light on it only to find it covered in a red liquid; blood. Seeing the cold wet blood on hands was the last straw. The overpowering smell coupled with her nausea and cold sweat finally got the best of her. She managed to let out a slight noise before her legs finally gave out from under her and she fell down unconscious.

*****

Cloud had noticed that something was wrong with Tifa when she started walking towards the wall as he was talking to her. His suspicion was confirmed when she shined the flashlight on her hand and collapsed in front of him. Luckily, he was able to catch her before she hit the ground.

"Tifa!" Cloud yelled as he held her in his arms trying to wake her.

"We need to get her back to the ship," Cid informed Cloud.

Cloud threw Tifa over his shoulder, so he could climb the ladder. Prior to Tifa falling unconscious, Cloud and Cid had examined the room and were unable to find anyone. They did find the room covered with blood splatter like there had been massacre down there. They were unable to find any bodies, or body parts, but it evident that something happened down there. They could tell the blood splatter was fresh and couldn't have been more than a day old.

They exited the fort and were the first group to arrive on the airship. Cid had called ahead and advised Reeve of the situation. They were met by some crew members who spotted them approaching with the Tifa still unconscious.

"Take her to the crew lounge," Cid told Cloud. “Reeve said that Miles has some medical experiences. I’ll send him down when he gets here.” 

Cid looked at one of the crew members and frowned. "What are you waiting for!” he yelled in a panic. “Get me a doctor, materia, potions, something!" 

"Sir, we don't have any of those things, but we do have a first aid kit," a crew member informed Cid, sounding a little nervous.

"Then get it and get down there!" Cid yelled. 

While Cid yelled at his crew, Cloud made his way down towards the lounge with Tifa in his arms. He gently placed her on the sofa and sat down next to her. He was not waiting long when someone entered. 

Cloud looked up toward Miles as he entered the room. At the same time a crew member ran in with a first aid kit and handed it to Miles.

"Sorry I took so long; this is our only kit," the crew member informed Miles who took the kit and walked towards Tifa.

Miles leaned down next to Tifa and placed his fingers on her neck checking her pulse while looking at his watch. A few seconds went by before he took his fingers off her and opened the kit.

"Well, her pulse is normal, but she seems a little pale and her skin is clammy," Miles explained as he rummaged through the kit. "From what Cid told me, it could be shock from the blood she saw, or maybe stress, or low blood sugar." Miles looked down at her blood covered hand and pulled out some disinfectant wipes to clean it off. "Do you know of any pre-existing conditions?"

"No," Cloud replied, looking concerned.

Cloud knew Tifa had seen way worse than what they had seen today, so he knew it couldn't have been shock. Tifa was a strong girl and he knew she would not faint at the sight of blood, even a room full of it. He wanted to believe Miles was right and it was just shock or stress, but deep down he had a feeling that something was wrong.

Suddenly, Cloud's phone went off. "Hello," he said, answering it. He could hear gunfire in the background.

"Cloud, I know you are preoccupied right now but we need your help outside and bring your sword," Reeve yelled above the gunfire. Then Cloud heard a click and silence.

"I got to go help Reeve and the others," Cloud informed Miles. "Can you watch over Tifa?"

Miles nodded in agreement while Cloud retrieved his sword and headed for the exit.

Outside the airship, Cloud came face to face with his friends spread out across the grassy field fighting multiple creatures a few hundred feet away from the fort. He could see Vincent standing alone surrounded by three odd looking bird monsters. They looked like cokatoils but were larger and had bizarre looking faces. Vincent appeared to be doing very well, handing all three by himself as he shot at them while dodging their attacks.

Reeve and Barret on the other hand were not faring as well as Vincent. They were next to each other surrounded by four creatures that looked like a bagnadrana, a bloatfloat, and two needle kiss'. Like the cokatolis these creatures were larger, and their faces deformed. Barret was shooting at the bagnadrana and the bloatfloat while Reeve tried to hold off the other two with a pistol.

Figuring Barret and Reeve needed his assistance the most, Cloud rushed over to them and attacked the bloatfloat creature from behind. The bird like creature fell dead in one hit and in one motion Cloud jumped towards the two other flying monsters hitting them both with one swing—both dead before they hit the ground. By the time Cloud slayed the three monsters, Barret was able to shoot the dinosaur like creature dead. After he was finished, Cloud looked over towards Vincent who was just finishing off his last monster.

"These things look like the monsters around Mount Corel, but different..." Vincent commented while examining the creatures he took down.

"They're all messed up! What's wrong with their fucking faces?" Barret exclaimed, kicking the dead dinosaur like monster.

Reeve walked over and examined the creature. "Hmmm," he said while bending down a little closer. "I think I might have seen this before but..."

Before Reeve could finish his thought, Cid came running up towards them with his spear in hand, late to the fight.

"What the hell happened?" Cid asked as soon as he reached the group. "I was in the engine room when my crew told me you guys were fightin' monsters."

"They attacked Barret and Reeve on their way back to the airship," Vincent informed Cid. "I was waiting outside when I saw the creatures appear from behind the fort and headed straight for them."

They all knew this was an odd occurrence because it was out of character for creatures to target someone like this. Usually they would only attack if you crossed paths with them in self-defence or if the monsters were carnivorous and hungry.

"We should go back to the ship and set off the explosives," Reeve informed the group. "It's going to be dark soon."

The sun was just starting to set causing the sky in the west to turn a reddish-orange color and the skyline behind the fort shifting into a dark-blue. Everyone started to walk towards the airship except for Cloud who took a few seconds to look back towards the reactor. On top of the reactor he thought he saw the outline of a person, but it was too dark and too far away to be certain.

Suddenly, he felt the growing pain of a headache starting to come on, but he ignored it and squinted as he tried to focus on the dark shadow far away. It was difficult to focus but he was sure he saw the outline of something fly up and away from the reactor before disappearing into the night's sky. By the way it moved, Cloud assumed it was most likely another one of those flying monsters, if it was even anything at all. Giving up on his search, he finally turned around and walked back towards the airship. 

When Cloud entered the airship, he went straight towards the lounge to check on Tifa. Although he like the idea of witnessing the reactor's destruction, Tifa was more important to him. When he entered the lounge, Barret was sitting in a chair a few feet away from the unconscious woman with Miles sitting closest to her.

"She's still sleepin'" Barret updated Cloud as he walked over and sat in the empty seat next to Tifa.

"All her vitals appear to be normal," Miles informed Cloud.

Cloud was relieved to hear the news but was worried that they were unable to find out what caused her to collapse.

There were no windows in the staff lounge but they all felt and heard the blast, followed by the rumble of the airship engines being activated several minutes later. Reeve must have waited for the smoke and debris to clear before leaving the site because it was a while before they finally took off.

By now Cloud's headache was intensifying but he tried to ignore it and focus on Tifa. But ignoring was proving more difficult, making Cloud wondered if his worrying over Tifa was aggravating it. The light was beginning to hurt his eyes, so he closed them tight and leaned forward while putting his head in his hands to try to relieve the pain.

"Headache?" Miles asked the blond.

Cloud glanced up to see Miles eyeing him with a concerned look. He thought he was doing a good job at hiding the pain, but he was wrong.

Seeing Cloud's expression, Miles knew he guessed right and continued explaining. "Last time I saw someone look like that I was working on the SOLDIER floor in Shinra. You remind me of a SOLDIER who had recently been exposed to Mako, painful headaches were a very common side effect."

Miles was starting to ramble and didn't even notice the confused look on Cloud's face. Miles' talking was not helping Cloud's headache, but Cloud didn't want to be rude after Miles helped with Tifa.

"But I'm sure that is not what's causing your headache," Miles continued nervously not able to stop rambling. "As far as I know the headaches were only a temporary side effect of mako exposure and it's probably been years since you were showered with it."

Cloud never said anything to Miles about his past but figured Miles just assumed he was in SOLDIER from the glow in eyes and his fighting skills.

"Showered!" Barret laughed, listening in on Miles' rant. "Spikey here swam around in the bloody lifestream and even survived Mako poisonin'"

A surprised look appeared on Miles face. "Wow, really?!" he questioned, looking at Cloud in disbelief. "Surviving mako poisoning without causing permanent cognitive damage is rare. Plus, to swim around in the lifestream and survive is almost unheard of." Miles appeared almost excited when hearing about Cloud's exposure but seeing the confused look on Cloud and Barret's faces, he calmed down. "Sorry, my field of study is the planet, mostly geology, but I specialize in the lifestream and mako. It's always been a passion of mine."

"What does showerin' someone in mako do anyway?" Barret asked curiously. 

Miles turned his attention away from Cloud to Barret. "Just showering someone in Mako does absolutely nothing. Mako is a naturally occurring compound, before Shinra started using it as a power source, the lifestream use to pool in abundance to the surface in natural springs. People fell into pools of it all the time but Mako eyes is something you only see in Shinra SOLDIERs. You need more than just a shower of mako to benefit from the effects. Shinra called it showering but they would expose their SOLDERs to large amounts of mako for a set period. Doing so permanently alters a person's DNA making them stronger, faster, and so on. But it has some side effects like short term headaches, dizziness, fever, memory loss, glowing eyes, just to name a few. Not to mention you risk mako poisoning if you expose someone for too long; which is why they always choose the strongest and most resilient people for SOLDIER. Shinra even experimented with mako injections for a brief period but had to stop because the side effects were too detrimental." Miles frowned. "Shinra used their SOLDIER's as guinea pigs for mako testing. Prolonged exposure to mako can alter a person's DNA to the point where it mutates them physically and I heard some of the scientist there would push the human testing too far." Miles frowned at the thought but then relaxed and sat back in his chair. "But I only worked in the Materia room, so I never witnessed any of this firsthand."

Miles turned his attention back to Cloud. "How long were you in the lifestream?" he asked eagerly. "How was your mako poisoning cured?"

Before Cloud could respond, Barret answered for him. "Not sure how long he was swimmin' around for,” Barret explained. “He fell in at the Northern Crater and they found em' in Mideel so we figured he was in there for at least a day or two, maybe more. He had mako poisonin' when we found em' then when Tifa and Cloud fell back in the lifestream, she fixed em' up."

Miles looked at Barret in disbelief. He had never heard of anyone being cured of mako poisoning let alone being cured by falling back into the lifestream.

Ignoring the pain, Cloud looked over at Tifa who was still sleeping. He had no memory of being in Mideel with mako poisoning, but he knew she stuck by him the whole time he was sick. She was the one who knew him well enough to help him sort out his memories in the lifestream and was able to help him find the real Cloud. He knew he wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for her.

"Interesting," Miles commented as leaned back in his chair, deep in thought. He looked over at Cloud. "If you don't mind me asking, how long have you having these headaches for?" he asked the blond. "It could be from long term Mako exposure or a side effect of the mako poisoning. If you want, I can run some tests after this assignment to find out the extent of the Mako mutation. Mind you, I am not a medial doctor, I just have some working knowledge on the subject."

"No, thanks," Cloud replied without even considering it.

Cloud was never one for doctors and tests, plus he figured it's too late to worry about what the mako did to his body since it was irreversible. Not to mention all the Jenova cells that were pumped into him by a crazy scientist. Cloud figured the less people who knew about that the better. By the age of seventeen Cloud had already been cut open by Sephiroth, then experimented on by a scientist for four years, and by the age of twenty-one he had mako poisoning twice. If the worst thing to come out of all that were a few headaches now and again, he should consider himself lucky.

"I understand," Miles replied as he packed up the first aid kit.

With Cloud's head still bothering him and Tifa's condition unchanged. The small group sat in silence until they landed in Junon minutes later.


	4. Chapter 4

Tifa awoke four hours after they arrived in Junon. It took her a few seconds to remember what happened before she fell unconscious, then she realized she was no longer in Fort Condor. She was lying on an unfamiliar bed in a dark room with the only source of light being the moonlight shining in through the opened window. She assumed she was in Junon because she could smell the cool ocean breeze coming in through the opening.

She looked over to see Cloud sitting on the edge of the bed next to her.  She could make out his figure in the dim light and could see the shine in his eyes. As she thought about what happened earlier, she felt a little embarrassed and guilty for making Cloud worry.

Noticing Tifa was awake, Cloud looked over at her. "Are you alright?" he asked in a soft voice.

"Ye...yeah," Tifa replied, sitting up in the bed.

She looked at Cloud trying to force a smile. His concerned look made her feel nervous and she was having a hard time looking him in the eyes. She was overwhelmed with emotion and felt so confused, strained, and scared right now, she didn't know what to say.

"I see..." Cloud turned away from Tifa, a little offended.

Tifa could tell Cloud knew something was wrong and that he was upset she was withholding the truth. "Cloud I..." she started to say but suddenly stopped herself. She hated hiding things from him, but she wasn't sure if it was the right time.

Realizing she wanted to tell him, Cloud turned to look at her. "Whatever it is Tifa, you can tell me..."

The white light from the moon was shining on Cloud's face causing his eyes to glow bright blue. The way he looked at her made Tifa feel calm and safe, like everything was going to be okay. She cared about him so much she didn't want to worry him anymore.

Cloud reached over and held her hands gently. His eyes were so intense she had to look away to say it.

"I wanted to tell you after the mission but..." Tifa took a deep breath before continuing, "I'm pregnant."

Saying it was such a relief but at the same time a wave of fear rushed over her. She wasn't sure what his reaction would be, she couldn't face him. She felt tears starting to build in her eyes, but she fought hard not to cry. A few seconds passed but it felt like minutes. Tifa wondered if Cloud was upset when he suddenly released her hands and leaned forward in a tight embrace. Unable to fight it anymore, tears started to roll down her cheeks as Cloud tightened his hold on her.

"It's going to be alright," Cloud reassured her.

Tifa was not worried because they weren’t ready to have a child; they were practically raising Denzel and Marlene. She was the only one who knew everything about what happened to Cloud in the basement of the Shinra manor, and she knew that he was injected with Jenova cell. They knew that if they decided to have a child there was always a possibility that it could be inherited, not to mention the mako exposure that could alter one’s DNA.

The couple sat alone in the room holding each other. Their minds were racing so much they were unable to sleep so they decided to go for a walk. It was close to midnight when they walked out of the Inn and onto the city streets. It was a warm night but being near the ocean provided a nice breeze.

Since the fall of Shinra, Junon had transformed into a progressive and environmentally friendly metropolis with a booming population full of academics and growing industry. Despite it being late, the streets were still busy and most of the people that passed were young students coming from or going to the local bars and clubs. They did pass the odd Junon security officer who gave Cloud an odd look; most likely due to the large sword strapped to his back.

They continued walking through the city until they came across some familiar faces. Up ahead they spotted Vincent with his back to them as he conversed with Tseng and Elena. Elena, who was facing them, noticed the two and waived them over. Seeing Elena waive, Vincent and Tseng stopped talking and looked back towards them.

"Hello," Elena greeted the two.

"Hello," Tifa responded.

Cloud nodded to Tseng who nodded his head slightly in response.

"Tseng and Elena were just telling me about news they received from Corel," Vincent informed Cloud and Tifa.

"As I was telling Vincent," Tseng informed them. "We've heard that a pack of monsters attacked the worker camp."

Cloud looked at Vincent. "I wonder if it's the same monsters that attacked us earlier."

Tifa was a little surprised to hear that they were attacked earlier. Cloud failed to mention it to her.

"Reno and Rude were the ones who informed us," Elena told the group. "They said the creatures looked like the monsters around Corel but were bigger and had strange looking faces. Apparently, they looked like they had human faces."

"It sounds like Angeal copies," Tseng informed the group.

"What are Angeal copies?" Cloud asked the Turk.

"Reeve didn't tell you?" Tseng looked at the blond with a raised eyebrow. "I'm just speculating but years ago before the Nibelheim incident there were two first class SOLDIERs, Genesis and Angeal, who were the products of project G. They had the ability to transfer their powers into other beings, be it human or beast. Usually the injected subjects would not only gain their powers but would also begin to look like them resulting in the altered faces. Genesis and Angeal died years ago but it could be someone connected to project G."

"What is project G?" Tifa asked.

"The G is for Gillian," Tseng explained. "When Jenova was first discovered, professor Gast assigned Hollander and Hojo to separate projects involving Jenova cell with the objective of creating a person with the powers of the Cetra. Hollander's project was called project G and Hojo's was called project S. Project G produced Genesis and Angeal while project S produced Sephiroth. As we know they were unable to create a person with the powers of the Ancients. Project S was determined to be the more successful specimen, and project G was believed to be scrapped, but as we know that did not happen since Deepground had ties to Project G."

"How did Genesis and Angeal die?" Cloud asked.

"Your friend Zack killed them after they defected from Shinra," Tseng answered Cloud looking a little confused. "Don't you remember? You were with us in Modeoheim when Zack defeated Angeal."

Cloud paused, trying to think back, then shook his head. "Sorry, I don't remember."

Tifa knew that many of Cloud’s memories involving Zack and his time working for Shinra were missing or hazy, so she was not surprised to hear that he couldn’t remember.

"We are leaving for Corel now," Tseng advised the others. "Reno and Rude managed to fight off the monsters but they can't stay for long and I have a feeling this is not the last of them."

"We've informed Reeve of the situation," Elena told the group. "He said you should all be arriving in Corel tomorrow."

With that said, the two Turks turned and hurried towards the aviation hanger located above the city.

"I wonder if these monsters have any connection to Deepground," Cloud asked Vincent who appeared deep in thought.

"Deepground was reportedly destroyed so we shouldn't make any inferences until we have some proof," Vincent explained.

"Do you think this has something to do with the reactors?" Tifa asked.

"Perhaps someone is using these monsters as a distraction," Vincent suggested. "When Miles and I investigated Fort Condor we discovered parts of the reactor missing. Miles appeared to be interested in the type of equipment missing. Maybe we could ask him if he has any idea what it could be used for."

"The missing equipment could be anyone," Cloud responded. "It's common for raiders to pilfer old Shinra technology to sell or use."

"What about the blood-filled room in the fort?" Tifa asked. "Did you find out where or who the blood came from?"

Cloud shook his head. "Besides the blood the room was completely empty." Could looked at Vincent. "Do you know the connection between Project G and Deepground?"

"All I know is that Deepground was constructed on Genesis's powers and all the Tsviets were created using his genes." Vincent responded. "As Tseng suggested, Reeve might have more information on these Genesis copies."

"We should meet with Reeve first thing tomorrow morning and find out what he has planned," Cloud proposed.

They all agreed and there was a short pause.

"We have an early day tomorrow and I'm starting to get tired," Tifa informed Cloud. She looked back at Vincent. "Are you coming back to the Inn?"

"I'm not tired," Vincent replied.

"Well, have a goodnight Vincent."

"Goodnight," Vincent said to Tifa and Cloud before turning to walk away.

Cloud and Tifa made their way back towards the Inn for the night. Although they both had a lot on their mind, it didn't take long for them to fall to sleep thanks to the cool sea breeze.


	5. Chapter 5

By the time Cloud and Tifa arrived at the WRO headquarters everyone else had already gathered in the conference room. Barret looked distressed and outraged; they assumed it was from the news of his hometown being attacked. Reeve was at the head of the conference table with Cid, Vincent, Miles, and Barret sitting around him. They all stopped talking and looked at Cloud and Tifa as they enter the room.

"Good morning," Tifa greeted the group as she sat down.

"Good morning," Reeve replied. "As I was just telling everyone, we might have to cut your time in Junon short due to the situation in Corel. Cid will take you to Corel this afternoon while I stay to oversee the demolition of the underwater reactor. I will meet up with you as soon as I am finished, then we'll continue on to Mt. Nibel."

"Why do we have to wait 'til the afternoon to go?" Barret asked, obviously annoyed with the idea of having to wait.

"Don't worry Barret, I've dispatched all available WRO peacekeepers to Corel," Reeve reassured his one-armed friend. "I need you and Miles here for the day to meet with the engineers working on the Junon reactor. Now that you two won't be staying to complete the project, I need you to go over the plans with them before you leave."

Reeve reached into his briefcase, pulled out a brown envelop and handed it to Miles. Cloud recognized it as the package Rude gave Reeve two nights ago.

"Here is all the information I could find on the Corel reactor," Reeve informed Barret and Miles. "It includes schematics, reports, data, and some other information that might prove useful."

Miles was closest to Reeve, he accepted the package and placed it on the table between him and Barret.

Reeve looked over at the rest of the group. "The next few days will likely be tasking, so take this time to go get supplies, food, or anything else you might need before you leave. Please be on the airship at fourteen hundred hours."

Cloud, Vincent, Tifa, and Cid stood up from their seats to leave while Barret, Miles, and Reeve stayed behind to discuss the underwater reactor project. Before Cloud could leave the room, Miles signalled him causing him and Tifa to stay behind.

"I have something for you," Miles informed Cloud as he pulled a vile of blue liquid from his pocket. "This is what we use to give the SOLDIER recruits to help them with their mako induced headaches. If it is mako exposure that's causing your headaches, this should help." He handed Cloud the vial. "Don't worry, it's not old, I made a fresh batch. And it's all natural, so even if your headaches are not mako induced, taking it shouldn't harm you in any way."

"Thanks," Cloud said, accepting the vial.

"Just take it next time you feel one coming on," Miles directed him. He looked back to see Barret and Reeve watching him, waiting for him to finish talking. "I should get back to the meeting. See you later." Miles than walked back towards Reeve and Barret while Tifa and Cloud exited into the hallway.

Tifa looked at Cloud. "Headaches?" she asked him, looking concerned.

"Nothing major," Cloud replied, shrugging it off. "Just these little headaches I get. Miles thinks it might be from the mako poisoning."

"Oh..." Tifa replied. "Do you get them a lot?"

"Not often," Cloud lied. In the beginning they were rare, but they started to become more frequent over the last six months and intensifying over the last few weeks.

Cloud and Tifa stepped into the hallway to find Vincent and Cid talking.

"How are you feelin' girly?" Cid asked Tifa as her and Cloud approached.

"Better," Tifa said, smiling sheepishly. "I don't know why but there was something about the fort that got to me."

Cid smiled. "Yeah, that place gave me a bad vibe. Glad to see you're feeling better." He turned to the rest of the group. "Man, there is some crazy shit goin' on. I heard some of the workers in Corel went missin' after last night's attack."

"What could these disappearances and the monster attacks have in common?" Tifa asked.

"I asked Reeve about Genesis and Angeal copies," Vincent informed them. "He said he didn't know much but he remembers an incident when the Shinra building was attacked by Genesis copies. As far as he knew, Genesis and Angeal were the only two at the time who were able to make copies of themselves."

"But if they're both dead, then who is making the copies?" Tifa inquired. "Tseng said Deepground had ties to project G. Is it possible one of them survived and learned how to make copies?"

"Maybe," Cloud mumbled, deep in thought. If this was related to Deepground, he wondered why they had not seen these copies until now.

"I can call Shelke and see if she has any information," Vincent suggested. "She might know something about project G since she was linked to Deepground."

"When you call, can you ask her how the children are doing?" Tifa added.

Vincent nodded and parted from the group.

Cid turned to Cloud. "I was speakin' to one of the workers who is overseein' the Junon reactor project. He said that since the reactor has been turned off the monsters crawlin' around have gone down, but some are still some lingerin'" Cid grinned at Cloud and Tifa playfully. "I volunteered to go down and clean the place up, you two wanna join?"

  
Cloud looked at Tifa who nodded in approval, she had already retrieved her gloves.

"Just like old times," the captain reminisced as his grin widened.

The three made their way down to the underground reactor. Cid was right; the number of monsters around the reactor had decreased dramatically since they last visited. Most of the creatures were confined to the underwater glass pipe.

Clearing out the tunnel was easier than anticipated with the monsters feeling weaker than they remembered. In order to speed up the process, the three split and fought solo. After their battles, Tifa and Cloud met up at the south end of the tunnel and went to go find Cid. They located him at the north end lighting up a smoke.

"What took you so long?" he asked with a smile and a cigarette hanging out of his mouth.

"I think that's all of them, but we should do one last sweep," Tifa suggested.

The three wandered around the underwater structure looking for monsters but did not find any. They circle back towards the glass pipe and continued towards the reactor.

By the time they reach the reactor it was already full of people who must have received word that the monsters were cleared out. The workers appeared to be so busy they walked by the three like they were invisible. From the entrance they could see Miles, Reeve, and Barret standing in front of the reactor with two other people, most likely engineers. All their backs were turned so they couldn't see exactly what they were doing.

"I wonder if they have any old Shinra submarines still down here." Cid commented. He finished his cigarette and looking around for somewhere to put it out.

"You want to go check?" Tifa asked with a smile. S

Tifa and Cid continue down the catwalk towards the submarine dock with Cloud slowly trailing behind. As Cloud walked past the reactor, he saw Miles walking towards him.

"Hey Cloud," Miles greeted the blond who stopped to talk. "You're also here to watch the real professionals at work?"

"You're not helping with the reactor?" Cloud asked, a little unsure what he was referring to.

Miles smiled. "No, when it comes to reactors, Barret is the professional," he explained. "He actually helped build the Corel reactor and has destroyed his fair share, from what I've heard. They asked me down here to see if the drill site was sealed before they dismantled it. The planet's crust is so thin down here, the last thing they want is a mako spill. I also came down here looking for something else mako related."

"What?" Cloud asked.

"Well, inside these reactors should be a rare type of materia that is larger than the average materia, but I just can't seem to find any." A look of frustration quickly passed over Miles' face.

"What do you plan to do with the huge materia?" Cloud asked.

Miles looked at him a little surprised. "So, you know what I am referring to?" He smiled at the blond. "Well, I have this personal project I’m working on. Even though I am helping Barret with the Corel project, I don't see oil or coal as sustainable and, as we all know, mako is out of the question. But materia is just as powerful as mako, and once mako has been turned into materia it can't be turned back into mako. Also, Materia will never run out; it's a renewable source of energy and the more you use it, the stronger it becomes. I have created a device that can harness the materia's power and with one huge materia, as you call it, I should be able to power a whole city. Assuming my hypothesis is correct of course."

"But I thought only living things can use materia?" Cloud asked.

"Not necessarily," Miles objected. "Cait Sith is a robot and he was able to use materia. It was Reeve's toy that gave me the idea. He approved the project if I don't break the mako/materia laws and he wants to oversee the prototype. He's not sure how the public will take to it, but if they are supportive, he said he will fully fund it.” Miles paused for a second. “Do you know where I can find some?" he asked, looking excited at the prospect of finding some.

"I have a few pieces stashed in a safe place," Cloud explained. He was very protective of the huge materia and was not sure if he should tell Miles where it is, but Reeve and Barret seemed to trust him.

Miles looked at Cloud in shock. "You have more than one?"

Cloud nodded and Miles smiled.

"Well, I guess it's good that you found them before Shinra," Miles commented.  “Who knows what they would have done with it. Would you be willing to part with one? You can name your price. Just think of the possibilities if we discovered an unlimited form of clean energy."

Cloud was reluctant to answer. He liked Miles' idea but didn't know if he should give him such a powerful materia.

"You don't have to answer me now," Miles said, sensing Cloud's hesitation. "Just please keep my request in mind. I will prove to you my intentions are for the greater good."

It's not that Cloud didn't trust Miles; he didn't want anyone to have such destructive power, even if it was for the greater good. Cloud knew how too much power can corrupt someone, and he took the huge materia from Shinra to stop them from using it for nefarious purposes. Miles should know this since he worked for Shinra.

That's when it occurred to Cloud to ask Miles about Project G and Genesis. "You said you worked on the SOLDIER floor, do you know anything about the experiments on some of the first-class SOLDIERs?" Cloud asked the scientist.

"As I said before, I only worked in the materia division, but on occasion, I would assist with the mako infusion of new recruits." Miles paused for a moment to think. "I heard rumors from coworkers in that department about the experiments on some SOLDIERs, but I don't have any firsthand knowledge, apart from what they told me."

"Do you know anything about a project G?" Cloud inquired.

Miles laughed a little. "It's funny you ask. Normally Shinra scientists are sworn to secrecy but I had a friend who worked as Hollander's assistant, and after Hollander deserted Shinra my friend became a lot more vocal about project G." Miles paused and folded his arms looking deep in thought. "I was told this a long time ago, but if I remember correctly, Project G stood for Gillian and Gillian was a woman Hollander injected with Jenova cells. Hollander predicted that whoever received Gillian's cells would receive Jenova's powers. Genesis was the first test subject and is the only one I know who was made this way. Hollander's project was not deemed very successful though, I heard Genesis succumbed to degradation and died."

"Degradation?" Cloud asked, puzzled. "I was told a SOLDIER named Zack killed Genesis."

"Zack? That name does not sound familiar," Miles commented. "But there were lots of people in SOLDIER, it's possible I've never met him. Maybe you are right, and I was provided with the wrong information." Miles paused for a moment then suddenly snapped his fingers, remembering something. "Oh, I do know of another person linked to Project G named Angeal, but he was more of an accident."

"Accident?" Cloud questioned.

"Angeal was Gillian's son, so he inherited the Jenova cells from Gillian," Miles said before pausing again, trying to remember more details. "I think he was deemed the more successful specimen because he inhered the cells from Gillian directly, his degradation was slower."

A wave of fear rushed over Cloud. Angeal inherited Jenova cells from his mother and died from degradation. He wondered if the same thing would happen to his child if he passed on his Jenova cells. He suddenly had a mountain of questions to ask Miles and didn't know where to start.

"Would anyone with Jenova cells pass them on to their offspring like Gillian did?" Cloud asked eagerly. "Would it matter if it was the mother or father who possessed the Jenova cells?"

Miles laughed at the question. "Well I'm not _that_ kind of scientists," he commented. "Even with the little knowledge of biology I do have, I do not know enough about the circumstances surrounding Gillian's case, so I would have no way of knowing. For example, I don't know if she was with child when she was injected or if it occurred after. I would need to review the research papers or examine someone who has been infected, but I think at this point we will never know. All research papers related to project G were destroyed and everyone with Jenova cells are long gone."

Cloud knew that was not true. Apart from himself having Jenova cells, he knew Shelke was also experimented on using Genesis' cells.

"What if I could give you a sample?" Cloud suggested. "Would you be able to tell how the Jenova cells would affect the infected person's offspring?"

Miles paused and contemplated the question. "I suppose once I study the sample and see how the Jenova cells are interacting with the human cells I could make an educated guess on what effects it would have on their offspring. But there are so many factors to consider, I think it would also depend on if the affected person is the mother or father and how much time the person has been infected with the Jenova cells..." Miles appeared to trail off, lost in thought then suddenly looked back at Cloud confused. "But how would you be able to secure a sample?"

Cloud could tell Miles was puzzled with the nature of his questions. He figured it probably won't be too long before he put two and two together. Cloud took a deep breath, debating whether to tell Miles but he really wanted to know the impact the Jenova cells might have on his child, if any, especially after hearing about degradation.

"I was injected with Jenova cells," Cloud explained. "Will you help me?"

A look of understanding appeared on Miles face. "I will gather some supplies and can take a sample on our way to Corel."

"Thank you," Cloud replied.

Cloud wondered if he should tell Tifa but decided it would be better to wait. There was no point worrying her until he had all the facts.

Miles looked at his watch. "Well, it's almost one o'clock and I still have some stuff I have to take care of before we depart. See you later."

Miles turned and walked towards the exit while Cloud continued towards the submarine dock to go meet up with Tifa and Cid. They were standing by the dock with Cid looking a little disappointed that there were no submarines left. Cloud made a mental note to tell Cid the location of the submarine they commandeered a few years ago. 

Seeing Cloud approach, Cid looked at his watch. "We still have some time," the pilot explained. "Do you two want to come see the project Shera and I were working on? I wanted to see the team before we left."

"Are you talking about your satellite?" Tifa asked. "I heard from Barret you launched last week. Sorry we missed it."

"That's okay," Cid told Tifa. "I know you two are busy and Rocket Town is far."

"We would love to see," Tifa informed Cid and they proceeded to the WRO Headquarters.

They followed Cid up to the fourth floor and down the hall until Cid stopped at a set of double doors marked 'control room'. Inside was an open room full of tables with mechanical parts, computers, and equipment. The surrounding walls were full of schematics of what looked like satellites. The room was full of people working on various projects.

Straight ahead of them was a door leading to another room. On each side of the door was a window and inside they could see that there were a few people sitting in front of a large control panel and multiple screens.

"This is where the magic happens," Cid informed his friends. "It was nice being able to work with Shera on something."

"Where is Shera?" Tifa asked.

"She's back working on the oilrigs," Cid informed her. "She took time off to help us with this, but she had to get back as soon as it launched."

It was then that a young girl who was working at a table nearby spotted Cid and walked over to him.

"Hey Cid!" the girl greeted him.

"Hey Samantha," Cid greeted the girl back. "These are my friends Cloud and Tifa. I was just giving them a tour of the place." He turned towards Cloud and Tifa. "Guys, this is Samantha, she helped program the navigation system."

"Hi," Cloud and Tifa greeted the girl.

"Nice to meet you," Samantha said to the two. "Cid has told me about you and all your crazy adventures. I could listen to his stories all day." Her cheeks started to turn a little red as she looked at the captain.

It was apparent to Cloud and Tifa that this young girl had a crush on him. Cid looked oblivious to this.

Realizing she was starting to stare at the Captain, Samantha looked away. "Did you hear about what happened to Ken and Sarah?" the girl asked, changing the subject. "It's horrible, they were such nice people."

"I heard, I hope they catch the person responsible," Cid said, looking a little upset. He glanced over at Tifa and Cloud who looked a little lost. "They were the two people found murdered in Edge," he explained. "They worked on the satellite with us."

"With Sarah gone, they had to find someone to replace her as head programmer," Samantha explained. "I heard they asked Shera, but she turned down the offer."

"She didn't mention that to me," Cid informed Samantha. "Not surprisin' though; Shera is more of a hands-on kind of gal. She wouldn't want to be glued to a computer all day."

"Well, I will let you finish showing your friends around. See ya Cid." Samantha smiled sweetly and walked back to her station.

Cid waived goodbye. "She's a sweet girl," Cid commented before turning to Cloud and Tifa. "What?" he asked wondering why they were both grinning at him.

"Cid, you know she has a crush on you, right?" Tifa asked.

"Her? Nah, she knows I am married," he told Tifa.

"If you say so," Tifa said, trying not to laugh. "So, you were going to show us the control room?" she asked, changing the subject.

"Yeah, this way." Cid led his two friends towards the door on the far side of the room.

They entered the control room and inside were three people busy working in front of computer monitors. All three people stopped what they were doing and looked in their direction upon entering the room.

"Hey Cid," all three of them greeted simultaneously before turning their attention back to their work.

"Hello," Cid replied before turning to Cloud and Tifa. "This is where they control everything, all the information from the satellite comes through here before it's stored."

"What is this satellite used for?" Tifa asked.

"A few things," Cid replied. "We use it for telecommunications so now WRO members will have satellite phone service available anywhere on the planet. We also have a telescope for surveillance, we can see and map every corner of the globe. We also collect data for research purposes. Those are just some examples, it's a lot more advance than the old Shinra one."

"I didn't know Shinra had a satellite," Cloud said.

"Yeah, I helped send one up when we were testing our rocket capabilities," Cid explained. "This was years before they even considered sending a human up into space. We based some of our plans on their design but updated the technology a bit."

One of the young people working at the control panel furthest from them was listening to Cid and laughed.

"A bit! That old design was seriously outdated," the adolescent exclaimed. "Like you, it belonged in the Stone Age," he joked.

Cid shook his head at the cocky youth. "Kids today," he laughed. "He thinks I'm old."

The boy was the youngest looking one amongst. "That's because you are old," the student said with a smile, not even looking away from his computer screen.

"I'm not _THAT_ old," Cid said jokingly, trying not to laugh. "You better respect you elder's young man, I've been to space you know."

"Yeah, yeah, old man, we all know you've been to space," the youth said, rolling his eyes but still smiling.

"That's Peter," Cid informed Cloud and Tifa. "He's a genius, he's only fifteen and is already a university student doing an internship with us."

Suddenly, Cid looked down at his watch. "Shit, its quarter to two, I got to go prep the ship before we leave."

Cid said goodbye to his co-workers and the three of them rushed towards the airship.


	6. Chapter 6

By two o'clock everyone was on the airship and ready to go. Joining the group on their flight to Corel were a handful of WRO peacekeepers and a few engineers to assist Barret and Miles with the Corel project. When Tifa and Cloud entered the bridge, they found Vincent talking to Cid who was piloting the airship.

"How is everyone back home?" Tifa asked Vincent once he was done speaking with Cid.

"They are fine, but Marlene misses you two and Barret," Vincent replied.

"Any news?" Cloud asked Vincent.

"Shelke had very little knowledge of project G other than Deepground using Genesis' DNA in some of their experiments. She said herself and the other Tsviets were the only members spliced with Genesis' cells and Weiss and Nero even referred to him as brother." Vincent paused and looked from Tifa to Cloud. "She also had some information on Genesis' last known whereabouts. She said that last she heard, Genesis was alive and sealed himself in a cavern underneath Midgar. She didn't know if he survived after Deepground and Omega were destroyed."

"This doesn't make since," Cloud said, confused with the conflicting information. "Tseng said that Zack killed Genesis and Miles said that he heard Genesis died from degradation. Now Shelke is telling us that he could be alive."

The troubling truth was that Cloud had more reason to believe Shelke, she was usually right about these things since she was like a living computer. If Genesis was alive, it would explain the Genesis copies they have been encountering. The look on Tifa and Vincent's faces told Cloud that they were thinking the same thing.

"But if he was alive why would he be abducting people?" Tifa questioned. "And why is he sending copies to stop us from destroying the reactors?"

"We still have a lot of questions that need answering," Cloud responded. "Nevertheless, we need to find out the party responsible and hopefully find the missing people." 

From the corner of his eye, Cloud noticed Miles walk onto the bridge. He then stopped and started to look around for something.

"Excuse me," Cloud said to Vincent and Tifa before walking over to Miles.

"Are you ready?" Miles asked Cloud as he approached. "I found a room that will serve our needs." He held up a black bag.

The aircraft was carrying a lot of passengers, so the only room Miles could find was a large storage room with an empty shelf he could lay his supplies on. They figured it was best to do it somewhere isolated, so Cloud would not have to explain why Miles is taking a sample of his blood. Miles placed his bag on the shelf and took out a sealed package with a syringe in it. He took out a rubber tourniquet and tied it around Cloud's bicep. He then used an alcohol swab to clean off the injection site on his forearm and stuck the syringe in Cloud's arm filling it.

"Easy as pie," Miles said as he covered the injection site with a cotton ball directing Cloud to put pressure on it. "I have a place in Corel where I have the equipment needed to examine the sample. When I have some free time, I will look at it and notify you of the results."

He secured the vile of blood putting it in his bag and cleaned up his supplies.

"Thanks," Cloud told Miles before he left to go find Tifa.

It didn't take long for the airship to reach Corel. Since the work camp was in the mountains next to the reactor the airship had no choice but to land in the valley nearby. 

Everyone departed the airship and Cloud helped unloaded fenrir and the supplies. Then Cid and his crew took off back to Junon. Cloud couldn't take his motorcycle to the camp, as it was in the mountains, but he wanted to keep it nearby just in case he needed it.

As soon as they exited the airship, the WRO peacekeepers headed straight to the worker camp to relieve the peacekeepers currently guarding the location.   
What was once called North Corel was now called Corel and it had grown into a large city since Shinra was destroyed and people stopped using mako energy. With mako energy eliminated, cities went back to using coal and Corel was there to supply the demand and reek the benefits.

North Coral, which once consisted of tents and makeshift shacks, was now a bustling town full of multi-story buildings and houses. It was now larger than Kalm and growing thanks to the coal industry Barret helped promote as an alternative to mako.

With Barret's oil discovery and the plan to transform the mako reactor into an oil refinery, Coral was going to become the petroleum powerhouse of the new world. Corel even had a booming tourist industry thanks to the gold saucer station and with a growing economy people had extra money to spend.

As Barret entered the town, Tifa, Cloud, and Vincent were surprised to see the huge welcoming he received. A town that just a few years ago regarded Barret with such hatred now welcomed him like a king returning to his castle. The WRO peacekeepers were equally welcomed being provided with free food when not on duty.

After stopping to talk to all the people who came to greet him, Barret headed towards the WRO satellite office to get an update on the reactor project and recent attack. Miles fallowed Barret into the building while Cloud, Tifa, and Vincent explored the town making sure to stay nearby.

The three were admiring an item kiosk across the street when Barret came out of the WRO building looking angry. Upon seeing Barret, the three walked across the street to meet him.

"Two workers were killed last night and seven are missin'," Barret told the group. "We don't know if they were taken or ran off durin' the attack, but probably taken. It woulda been a lot worse had the Turks not been there. They were passin' by in their chopper when they saw the creatures headin' towards the camp. They fought 'em off and stayed until Tseng and Elena arrived last night."

"We should head towards the camp," Vincent suggested, wanting to get a head start. It was late afternoon and the train stopped running during dinner time, so they had to travel by foot. The people of Corel utilized the Shinra train that Cid managed to stop before it crashed into North Corel years ago. It was now used to transport people and supplies to the reactor sight.

"Right," Barret nodded. "Miles says he has some stuff to do here so he's goin' to meet up with us later."

The four of them made their way towards the reactor. They walked along the train tracks and crossed the bridge towards the steps leading to the camp. To their left on the other side of the bridge they noticed an unoccupied Shinra helicopter meaning Tseng and Elena was still there.

The camp was located on the mountain ledge overlooking the reactor. It was the perfect location for the camp since it was close to the reactor and the train tracks. The land was flat and there was already a railing built along the edge of the cliff.

The camp consisted of multiple tents and temporary shelters for the shift workers. Many of the workers in the camp were engineers, some general labourers, and various other specialized professionals hired to dismantle the reactor and extract any useless equipment.

Barret was lucky they managed to hire a few ex-Shinra employees who had a working knowledge of reactors. The people who were considered essential workers would stay at the camp rotating day and night shifts. The non-essential staff would travel by train everyday bringing supplies and food for the camp inhabitants.

They were only a month into the project and haven't even started on the reactor. It took a few weeks to hook the reactor up to Corel's power grid and to set up backup generators since it was no longer able to run on mako. Corel itself was powered by coal and had a coal power plant located on the other side of the mountains where there was a water source. Many of the men and some women in the town either worked in the coal mines, in the power plant, or on this project adding to the booming economy. 

Seeing Barret and the others enter the camp, one of the workers ran up to them. "Right on time boss," he said to Barret. "We just got the power on this morning. We sent some guys in there today to walk around the place and will brief you on what they found. Did you get the diagrams for the reactor?"

"Miles has 'em," Barret replied. "He said he will bring 'em by later to go over with everyone."

Barret looked around the camp and he did not like what he saw. There were tents and shelters damaged from the attack. All the seriously injured people were rush to the Corel hospital but many of the workers that remained had bandages or visible injuries.

"Tell everyone to take the night off and rest," Barret explained. "We'll start fresh in the morning."

With that the worker nodded and left to go inform the others.

There were portable lights erected around the outside of the camp but in the center was a large fire and seats for people to relax. Cloud and the others were just about to go sit by the fire when Tseng and Elena walked into the camp. Upon seeing the group, the two Turks walked towards them.

"We were just over by the reactor talking to one of the men conducting the walkthrough," Tseng informed the group. "He said he heard noises coming from inside the reactor, but they can't find the source."

The last inch of sun was setting behind the mountain, meaning it was going to be dark if they decided to go look now. Luckily, the reactor had power so if they investigated, they would not be doing it in complete darkness.

"What kind of noise?" Tifa asked.

"They said it sounded like a groaning noise and banging," Elena replied.

"Hopefully no one is hurt or trapped," Tifa wondered. "Maybe it's the missing workers."

"We should go check it out," Barret infromed the group. 

Just as Barret finished speaking, Miles walked into the camp with a backpack on. Seeing the group standing near the fire, he walked over towards them.

"What's going on?" Miles asked, seeing the worried look on everyone's faces.

"There are noises coming from the inside the reactor, but the workers can't find the source." Tifa informed him. "We are going to go check it out."

Hearing that, Miles took his backpack off and laid it on the ground before opening it.

"I think I have something that might help you out," Miles informed them. He pulled out the reactor plans and opened it up on the ground. "I was examining the plans last night and here," he said pointing to a big open space at the bottom of the diagram. "There is a big empty room here, I can't figure out what its purpose is. It appears the only way to access it is an elevator shaft located here." Miles pointed to a tunnel on the diagram located just above to empty room. "There also appears to be another tunnel in the back that leads to an access hatch outside. I think it might be those bay doors over there behind the reactor." Miles looked over to the reactor lit up in the distance and pointed towards it. Everyone shifted their gaze from the map to the reactor to see what Miles was pointing at. "You see that catwalk above the number 27 written over there? I think there is an opening at the end of the catwalk that leads to this room, but I don't know where the controls are to open it, so we need to find the elevator inside." Miles looked back down at the plans. "If the workers couldn't find the elevator inside it's probably concealed, but with these plans you should be able to locate it."

Tseng reached into his pocket and handed Miles a little black transmitting device. "Put this in your ear," he directed Miles. "You can walk us through the reactor from here. There's no point in all of us going, some parts of the reactor can get pretty tight."

Miles took the device, switched it on and put it in his ear.

"The reactor lights are on, but you'll need your flashlights to help you get there." Miles reached into his backpack and took out a few flashlights handing them to the others.

Tifa took a flashlight from Miles for herself and Cloud. The light from the fire was starting to bother Cloud's eyes and he could feel one of his headaches coming on. He was standing in the back of the group, so nobody noticed him walk away. As he walked towards the railing at the edge of cliff, the pain was starting to intensify so he reached into his pocket to retrieve the vile Miles gave him. He then opened it and drank the contents. It didn't taste very good, but he could instantly feel his headache starting to go away.

Cloud took a minute to lean against the rail and look around. He could see the reactor's lights glowing bright against the surrounding darkness. He glanced back to see everyone else still talking to Miles about the plan but suddenly something caught his eye in the direction of the reactor. He couldn't see anything against the night sky, but he noticed a big shadow pass in front of the reactor's lights like a big bird was circling the structure.

He was too far away to tell what it was, but he assumed it was a flying monster. Then, he saw the figure land in front of the reactor door and disappear inside. It almost looked human, but it could fly, and it looked like it had wings. He waited a few minutes to see if the creature was going to come back out, but nothing happened.   
Cloud was about to turn around and tell the others when he heard a noise coming from the reactor drawing his attention back. The noise sounded mechanical, like one of the generators being turned on. A few seconds later he noticed the platform behind the reactor, which Miles pointed out earlier, start to open, revealing an empty void. Cloud then saw the human-like figure exit the reactor from where it entered and fly off into the night.

Cloud stood there gazing at the cavity that was just opened. Moments later, he heard a screeching noise and multiple creatures came flying out of the cavity like they were coming from the pits of hell.

"Over here!" Cloud called out to the others. Realizing Cloud was not with them, they looked over in his direction and ran towards him. "Looks like we have company," Cloud said as he reached for the sword strapped to his back. Cloud could hear everyone reach for their weapons as soon as they noticed the creatures.

The creatures circled around the reactor a few times but upon noticing the lights of the camp they came swarming towards them. Realizing he would have a greater advantage in the air, Vincent transformed into Chaos and took off towards to creatures.

Miles, who was the only one unaware of Vincent's power, jumped a little when he witnessed Chaos appear next to him.

Barret took off towards the tents to warn the workers of the attack.

It was difficult for Cloud to see the creatures against the surrounding darkness, so he couldn't tell how many there were. He could see flashes of lights in the distance followed by the sound of gunfire, he assumed it was Vincent shooting at the creatures.

As they approached the camp, Cloud was surprised to see the creatures were human with a large wing coming out of their left side. Some of them had swords while others had guns.

Cloud jumped out of the way as one of the creatures stopped in midair to fire at him. He then leaped into the air with his sword raised above his head bringing it crashing down on the creature and sending it hurling into the ground.

Cloud looked around to see the Turks, Barret, and the Peacekeepers shooting at the flying creatures. He could tell they too were having difficulty trying to aim in the dark. He looked around for Tifa but could not find her anywhere. Suddenly, to his right, a creature fell to the ground a few feet away from him followed by Tifa landing next to it. Cloud new Tifa could hold her own in any fight but he was relieved to see that she was safe.

"Cloud, look out!" Tifa warned.

Cloud turned his head to see a creature diving towards him with its sword drawn. Cloud jumped up just as it was about to reach him, causing the flying person to hit the ground hard. Cloud landed next to it, impaling it with his sword.

Cloud studied the darkness trying to see or hear for any more creatures circling the camp. From what he could tell, it appeared that were no more flying nearby, so he gazed around the camp to evaluate the situation.

He could see multiple creatures lying dead throughout the camp. It appeared the Turks and Barret had each taken out a few and the peacekeepers killed several.

"Everyone, okay?" Cloud asked everyone.

"What are these things?" Tifa asked while looking down at one of the winged humans.

"Genesis copies," Tseng replied, kneeling to get a better look.

Their faces were all the same, but their clothes were different. Most of them were wearing peacekeeper uniforms but there were two that were dressed differently.

"Do you think they are the missing WRO members Reeve was talking about?" Tifa asked.

"Looks that way," Barret replied, looking at the Genesis copy next to him. If they really were WRO members, Barret felt bad killing one of his own.

With the danger neutralized, Miles and some of the workers came out from hiding and walked over towards them.

"I only count ten Genesis copies," Elena commented. "Weren't there over fifteen people confirmed missing from the WRO, not to mention the ones who went missing last night?"

"I thought I saw more than twenty of those flying creatures," Tifa added, looking around the camp and then realized something important. "Where's Vincent?"   
Discovering that Vincent was not amongst them, Cloud and the others searched the camp, but he was nowhere to be found.

"He transformed into Chaos and took off after the Genesis copies," Cloud responded.

"Hope he's ok," Tifa remarked. "We should go look for him. He could be injured."

"The Genesis copies came from the reactor." Cloud commented. "Some of us should go look for him there."

"I’ll come with you," Miles told the others. "He might need medical attention."

Tifa, Cloud, Tseng, Elena, and Miles went to go look for Vincent while Barret stayed at the camp with the remaining workers and peacekeepers.

They decided to follow the train tracks towards the reactor using flashlights to find their way in the darkness. They were debating if they should try to enter through the opening from where the creatures emerged, but they didn't know exactly how far down it travelled, so they decided to play it safe and try to find an alternative route in.

As they walked towards the reactor, they took turns calling out Vincent's name and would stop to listen for a response. It was eerily silent around Mt. Coral; they didn't hear any of the wild animal sounds you would normally expect to hear at night. As they approached the reactor, the outside lights were so bright they no longer needed their flashlights.

When they entered the reactor, Miles stopped to review the schematics. 

The inside of the reactor was bright with yellow lights, cement walls, and the ceiling above them covered in piping.

"It appears we need to turn left to find the control room," Miles explained. "From there we should be able to reach the elevator shaft." Miles folded up the plans and put it in his backpack.

The group made their way towards the control room. They stepped through the portal into the room which was much darker than the rest of the reactor. Inside it had three big control panels that were all lit up in various colored lights and buttons, some blinking. Miles walked over towards the panels and slowly studied all three. He stopped at the middle panel and started pressing buttons. Suddenly, a clicking noise is heard and a concealed door at the opposite end of the room opened. It was a big freight elevator allowing them to all fit inside.

Once inside the elevator they noticed a control panel on the wall requiring a swipe card or code to operate it. Everyone looked at Miles who shrugged not knowing the access code.

Tseng made his way through the group over to the control panel. He imputed a five-digit code causing the elevator door close and start descending.

"Shinra executive override code," Tseng explained to the group. 

It felt like close to a minute before the elevator reached the bottom. They stepped out into a large dark room with blue lights glowing in the distance. If they didn't know they were underground, they would have thought they were in a warehouse it was so open and empty. The group walked towards the blue glowing light only to come across several dozen metal mako chambers. Cloud recognized them as the mako pods like the ones in the Mt. Nibel reactor.

"This could be Hojo's doing," Tseng suggested. "He always had a habit of requesting additions to Shinra constructions. I wouldn't be surprised if he was conducting experiments under this reactor before he died."

Many of pods had the doors opened and were emptied of all the mako. They all proceeded to spread out and checked the windows of the closed pods to see if anyone or anything was still inside, but they were all empty.

Cloud walked around the whole room and it was void of anyone apart from them. Next to the pods was a metal table with straps and another table covered with empty vials and syringes.

"This must have been where the people were experimented on," Miles commented as he examined the table.

Tifa studied the opened pods with little pools of mako on the floor next to them. "It appears that thirty-five genesis copies were released but we only took down ten," she explained. "That means there must be more still out there."

Towards the back of the room there was a big aperture above them with light shining through it onto the floor. Cloud assumed this was the outside entrance he saw the Genesis copies emerge from. He walked over to the light to see if he could find an easy way back up to the top. As soon as he stepped under the opening, his PHS beeped. He took his phone out of his pocket and examined it. It only had one signal bar of reception and a voicemail message. Before he had a chance to check the message, his phone started to ring.

"Hello," the blond said, answering the phone. Noticing Cloud talking on the phone everyone else in the room stopped what they were doing to listen in. "We're on our way," Clouds said after a few seconds of silence. Cloud ended the call and put his cell back in his pocket before turning towards the others.

"It was Vincent," he informed the group. A sigh of relief could be heard from the two women. "He followed a group of Genesis copies towards Cosmo Canyon and needs our help."

"We should hurry," Elena informed the group.

Cloud looked up at the long tunnel leading towards the surface.

"Tifa and I can probably jump up from here," he looked at Tifa. "If we run to Corel, we could take fenrir and be in Cosmo Canyon in an hour."

"We'll meet you there in the helicopter," Tseng told Cloud who nodded in approval.

Tseng, Elena, and Miles walked back towards the elevator as Tifa walked over to Cloud.

"Ladies first," he said as he slightly kneeled in front of her cupping his hands together. Tifa put her foot in Cloud's hands and jumped as he threw her up into the tunnel. He looked up to make sure she landed and then jumped after her.

Cloud and Tifa ran as they followed the train track all the way to Corel. Once in Corel, Cloud retrieved his bike and they took off towards Cosmo Canyon. It didn't take long for the pair to reach the Canyon.

When they entered the small community, they found people buys gathering medical supplies and tending the injured. There were five dead Genesis copies lying on the ground and some of the homes looked like they were damaged.

Vincent was back to his normal self and assisting with healing the injured civilians. Upon seeing Cloud and Tifa, Vincent finished curing a young female and walked towards the two while the girl's friend tended to her.

"What happened here?" Cloud asked the ex-Turk.

"I followed eight of them here," Vincent explained. "Five of them started attacking the civilians while three of them breached Bugenhagen's house. I haven't had a chance to go see what damage they caused but I witnessed three of them fly off while I was protecting the citizens. They appeared to be very coordinated like it was a planned attacked. I noticed them flying off into the distance back towards Corel."

"I wonder what they were after..." Tifa asked, looking around at all the injured people.

"I think I know," Cloud replied as he reached into his pocket for his phone. "I'll let Barret know more Genesis copies might be heading his way. Hopefully they haven't left yet."

He presses a button on his phone and put it to his ear. "Barret, we're with Vincent. He said he saw a group of Genesis copies head North towards Corel. You and the others should just stay there, we'll be back soon." Cloud paused with the phone to his ear as he listened to Barret. Vincent and Tifa could see a worried look appear on his face. After a few seconds, Cloud mumbled, "Okay." His expression turned grim as he put away his phone.

"What is it?" Tifa asked.

"Barret said Elena, Tseng, and Miles already left in the helicopter but moments later he received a call from Miles saying the helicopter was under attack by Genesis copies. They lost contact and Barret hasn't been able to reach them since."

Tiffa looked worried. "Hopefully they're okay," she said.

"I'll go see if I can find them," Vincent suggested. "I can cover more land by air."

"We'll stay here in case they show up," Tifa mentioned before looking around. "It looks like they need some help around here anyways."

With that said, Vincent transformed into chaos and took off towards Corel.

Tifa and Cloud spent most of the night and early morning tending to the injured. The people of Cosmo Canyon were lucky that no one was badly hurt and most only required a cure materia. The town's people were grateful that Vincent was there to prevent the Genesis copies from causing further damage and harm to them.

It was early afternoon before Cloud and Tifa had a chance to go up and assess the damage to Bugenhagen's, now Nanakin's, house. Nanakin was still in Edge with Yuffie and the others, so shortly after they arrived in Cosmo Canyon, Tifa called to let Nanakin know what happened.

Just as Cloud feared, the Genesis copies took all four huge materia. There was a hole blown right through the observatory where the materia were kept. Cloud wondered how they knew where to find it but on the other hand they did not go to great lengths to hide it from anyone. It was kept at the highest point at the top of Cosmo Canyon and if the Genesis copies were drawn to it in any way, they could tell it was there. The more important question was what they were going to do with it?

The sun was setting when Vincent returned with discouraging news. He said he found what appeared to be a crash site it the mountains just east of Nibelheim but by the time he arrived, the helicopter looked like a smouldering pile of metal. He couldn't tell if there were any bodies inside and there was no sign of human activity around the crash site. He said he scoured the area to see if maybe they managed to escape the aircraft before it went up in flames but couldn't find any trace of them.

Cloud and Tifa couldn't help but notice how tired and worn out Vincent looked. He mentioned going back out tomorrow but he didn't sound optimistic. Cloud and Tifa agreed to join him first thing in the morning and Cloud suggested taking the bike back towards Corel checking various places along the way.

To show their gratitude for their help the people of Cosmo Canyon provided the three with a big feast. Although they didn't feel like eating, they tried to enjoy the food as to not appear rude. After dinner, they sat around the fire quietly remembering the three friends they feared were gone. They sat in silence until deciding to go to bed. The people of Cosmo Canyon offered them two free rooms to stay in for the night which they kindly accepted.

It took a while for Cloud to fall asleep. His mind was racing with so many questions after what transpired over the past few days. He was upset over what happened to his friends and he knew that this was not the end of these attacks.

Cloud looked over at Tifa who was sleeping soundly next to him. He cherished his friends, they were his family, and he swore to do everything in his power to protect them. As sleep finally overwhelmed him the thoughts of his lost friends consumed his mind.

When Cloud opened his eyes, he was no longer in Cosmo Canyon. He couldn't remember falling asleep, but he knew he must be sleeping because he was now fully dressed and standing inside the Mt. Nibel reactor. But this didn't feel like one of his regular dreams, it felt different, like the time he talked to Areith when he had geo stigma. Could this be her trying to communicate with him again? He didn't think so. With Aireth everything felt bright, warm, and familiar. This felt dark and cold plus he didn't think she would bring him to a place full of bad memories.

Cloud examined the room, he was inside the main pod chamber and standing at the top of the stairs in front of the Jenova room. He knew this was not a memory and he was starting to wonder if this was even a dream, but how did he get all the way here from Cosmo Canyon?

The last thing he remembered he was lying in bed with Tifa. Cloud peered inside the open door to the Jenova chamber to see a man standing with his back to him looking at the empty tank Jenova was once in.

Realizing he was not alone, the man turned to face Cloud. The man had shoulder length light brown hair and had one black wing coming out the left side of his back. Cloud assumed the man was Genesis since his face was the same as the copies he encountered in Coral. He was wearing a long red jacket and was holding a sword.

Upon seeing Cloud, Genesis smiled. "You probably don't remember me, but we've met before," he informed Cloud.

Cloud went to reach for his sword only to discover it was not with him. Realizing what Cloud was reaching for, Genesis' smile deepened.

"I guess you haven't realized this isn't real," Genesis notified him.

"So, this is a dream," Cloud said softly to himself.

"Of sorts," Genesis replied with a shrug. "I must say, you have grown stronger since we last crossed paths. When we last met, you were on the brink of death; luckily you had Zack to help you. You were very lucky to have such a good friend with you. If I were in Zack's shoes, I would not have risked my safety to save such a weak specimen, that's probably what got him killed."

Cloud knew Genesis was just trying to anger him. He was aware he was the reason Zack fell to the Shinra and he knew Zack forgave him. Zack risked his life to save Cloud, that's why he made the promise to live both their lives.

"What do you want with me?" Cloud asked the former SOLDIER.

"I need you out of my way," he frowned at Cloud. "You're interfering with my plans."

"The mako reactors?" Cloud questioned, assuming that's what he was referring to.

Genesis laughed. "That's only a very small piece of the puzzle. Since my awakening I have managed to make myself stronger, but not strong enough, yet. I needed you all out of the way, so I can build my army."

Cloud looked blankly at the former SOLDIER. He had no clue what Genesis was referring to.

Genesis continued. "I was always told Hojo's experiments were stronger physically, but I always found them to be inferior mentally. Sephiroth became obsessed with the thoughts of mother and you are a perfect example of an inferior mind. Your mind was so fragile at the beginning, even Sephiroth could take control of you like a puppet."

Cloud looked at Genesis surprised, wondering how Genesis knew what happened years ago with Sephiroth.

Realizing what Cloud was thinking, Genesis continued. "You would be surprised what I can find out about you in your dreams. Although I must give you credit; you seem to have grown much stronger than anticipated, I'm sure the battle with Sephiroth helped. My brother, on the other hand, has not been as lucky, after his battle with your cloaked friend he was injured beyond repair."

"Weiss is still alive?" Cloud asked. Last time he saw Weiss he transformed into Omega and Cloud witnessed the creature be destroyed with his own eyes by Vincent.

"If you want to call it living," Genesis replied. "Mentally he is alive, but physically he is damaged. Not surprising considering his mind was taken over by a mad scientist, then he merged with Nero and destroyed as Omega. Only someone with project G genes can be exposed to such turmoil and survive. Simple Jenova cells won't help him. He requires the cells of someone like him and now that you and your friends are out of the way, I can go retrieve her."

It all became clear, Cloud now knew exactly whom he was referring to.

"There are people with her that will stop you," Cloud informed Genesis.

Genesis laughed. "You think the ninja and the beast will be a match for my copies? As we speak, I have swarms of them on their way to Edge, Junon, and Corel. But you have something more important to worry about."

Cloud gave Genesis a perplexed look wondering what he was referring to.

"I have someone very important to you," Genesis explained as he smiled wickedly. "How poetic that the last time you see your childhood friend will be in your hometown." 

Suddenly everything around Cloud went black.

"Come get her," Genesis' voice taunted him in the darkness.


	7. Chapter 7

Cloud shot up in bed fully awake and drenched in sweat. He looked over at the empty spot next to him. Tifa was gone causing and a wave of fear to rush over him. He knew he had to go to Nibelheim right away to retrieve her. He dressed himself and ran to Vincent's room to tell him about Genesis and Tifa. Vincent offered to go with him, but Cloud refused, telling his friend it was more important that he go to Edge as soon as possible to help Shelke. Vincent called Reeve to let them know what was going on and to try to find reinforcements to send to Corel and Edge. He tried to call Barret, but his phone was off. They feared Corel was already under attack.

It was still dark when Cloud left Cosmo Canyon on fenrir. He went full speed into the night towards his hometown. The sun had still not risen by the time he arrived in Nibelheim. The sky to the east was turning a lighter blue signalling that sunrise was near. As Cloud walked into the town, he noticed that the houses looked deserted and unkempt with some front doors wide open like the inhabitants left in a hurry. The town well that once stood in the center of the small community was damaged and lying in pieces on the ground.

Cloud paused and gazed around the town not sure where he should start looking for Tifa. He was not expecting Nibelhiem to be a ghost town and he wondered what happened to all the people.

"Could this be Genesis' doing?" Cloud thought to himself. He wondered if he should check the houses for Tifa before heading to the Mt. Nibel reactor.

Before Cloud could decide on where to start looking, the door to the Inn opened. Cloud reached for his sword in response but stopped when he saw a familiar face. Stepping out into the morning darkness Cloud could see an injured Miles with bandages around his head and right hand. Being mako infused, Cloud had little trouble seeing in the darkness, but he could tell Miles was having difficulty making out the blond.

"Miles, it's me, Cloud," he called over to the scientist. "Are you alright?"

"Cloud?" Miles asked, peering into the darkness trying to make him out. He did not have his glasses on.

Realizing it was a friend, Miles began limping towards Cloud. Apart from the bandages, Miles' face and arms were covered in dirt and scratches. His hair was matted, and he walked with very little weight on his left foot.

"What happened to you?" Cloud asked. "We thought you were dead, where is Tseng and Elena?"

"I don't know," Miles replied, he looked down shamefully. "When our helicopter was attacked by Genesis copies, one of them blew through the cockpit and I fell out. Another tried to attack me in mid-air, but I managed to grab on to him. I broke free closer to the ground and the fall knocked me unconscious. When I awoke, it was almost nightfall and there was nobody around. I lost my phone in the fall so I wondered around until I came across this deserted town. I found some medical supplies in the Inn, I was able to make a splint for my foot and fell asleep. I awoke when I heard your motorcycle." Miles paused and gave Cloud a questionable look. "Where are the others?"

A wave of fear rushed over Cloud's face. "Genesis took Tifa, he has her somewhere around here," Cloud explained. "Did you check any of the houses?"

Miles shook his head. "Once I found the medical supplies in the Inn, I didn't bother to look anywhere else. By the time I found the town, it was dark, and I was exhausted. I checked the Inn because I figured it would have a bed and supplies. But when I entered the town, I thought I saw a faint light coming from a basement window in that big house over there." Miles pointed towards the Shinra Mansion.

When Cloud looked over at the mansion, it looked dark and deserted but he figured he would check it out before travelling to the Mt. Nibel reactor. Cloud would not be surprised if the mansion was where Genesis took her, that house had always been a place of misfortune for him and he wondered why they didn't burn it down years ago. 

Knowing what Cloud was thinking, Miles spoke up. "I'll come with you," he offered.

The two made their way towards the Shina Mansion. By the time they arrived at the gates the sunlight was just starting to break to the east and even in the dim light, the manor looked dingy and condemned, like always. As they entered the mansion, Cloud was hit with the smell of moldy air.

"Where do we start looking?" Miles asked, standing close to Cloud.

"Follow me," Cloud told Miles as he walked towards the staircase leading to the second floor. Previous experiences in this mansion have taught him that if he was going to find Tifa, it would be in the basement.

Miles followed Cloud to the staircase leading to the dungeon like basement below. "What's down there?" he asked, looking down into the darkness below.

"A Shinra laboratory," Cloud replied, leading the way down the stairs.

Cloud was a little surprised that they haven't come across any of the creatures that usually overrun the old building. It's as if someone cleared out the manor of all the monsters. When they reached the basement, the two of them slowly traveled towards the laboratory while keeping an eye out for monsters. He could hear Miles footsteps close behind him and could tell he was nervous being in the dark dingy dungeon. Cloud could see a faint glow from under the door of the laboratory. 

Cloud was about to open to door but stopped to look back at Miles. "Be careful," he warned. "Genesis or one of his copies could be inside."

"I will," Miles replied, standing directly behind Cloud.

Cloud slowly opened the door with one hand while reaching for his sword with the other. He looked around to make sure nobody was there before opening the door further. He scanned the room, but nobody was inside. Seeing no danger, Cloud released the grip of his sword. The lights were on and the two glass pods in the corner were full of bright green mako. Cloud knew those pods all too well and was surprised to see the broken pod that Zack was once kept in was now fixed. Gazing at the pods, Cloud was surprised to find two figures floating inside the pools of mako. The pod that was once broken now held a male with long spiky hair. The blond looked over to the pod he was once a prisoner in and could make out a female figure. Taking a step forward he recognized the figure.

"Tifa!" Cloud called out, but before he could take another step, he a felt sharp stabbing pain in the back of his neck. Cloud looked back to see Miles grinning and holding an empty syringe. Before Cloud could reach for his sword, he felt a wave of dizziness wash over him. His legs became weak causing him to fall to the floor. Now on his hands and knees, Cloud was quickly losing strength. He looked up at Tifa floating lifeless in the tube of mako. He could feel the weakness overpowering his body, causing his arms and legs to collapse from under him. He rolled onto his back and looked up at Miles standing over him smiling. Before Cloud could ask the young scientist why, the darkness fell over him.

*****

When Cloud awoke his head felt like it was being squeezed in vice grips. He was severely dehydrated, and his eyes was throbbing before he even opened them. His body ached, and his limbs felt numb. When he attempted to open his eyes the light from the room made the pain worse. He tried to move his arms and realized his hands were chained above his head. The sound of his chains moving signalled that he was awake.

"It's about time you woke up," Cloud heard Miles say from the other side of the room.

Cloud forced his eyes opened, ignoring the pain. Everything was blurry at first but cleared up after a few seconds. He was sitting on the floor of the laboratory with his hands chained to the brick wall between the entrance to the laboratory and a bookcase. He looked around and could see Miles half-sitting on the corner of the desk looking down at him. He could only partially see the two mako chambers behind the desk, but they appeared empty and were no longer glowing with mako.

"What did you do with Tifa?!" Cloud snapped furiously.

Cloud struggled with his chains, he tried to pull them out from the wall but was still too weak. His head felt like it was still swimming and his body continued to throb with pain. Even if he could get out of the chains, he wasn't even sure if he would be able to walk.

Watching Cloud trying to break free, Miles smiled. "I pumped enough tranquilizer into you to knock out three Midgar zoloms," he informed his captive. "It will be a while yet before you can even walk, let alone rip those chains out of the wall."

Realizing he was right, Cloud stopped struggling and glared up at Miles. "Why are you doing this?" he asked. "What do you want with Tifa? Where is she?"

Miles continued to grin at Cloud, it was obvious that he was enjoying this. He sat up from the desk and took a step towards Cloud before folding his arms. "I must admit she was not part of my original plan," he explained. The scientist turned away from the captive and walked towards the empty pods. He placed one hand on the empty pod Tifa was in, looking at his reflection in the glass. Cloud noticed that he no longer walked with a limp.

"I really thought being back here would jog your memory," Miles sighed. "But then again you were severely poisoned. I was just promoted from the materia department to Hojo's assistant at the time and my first assignment was to oversee his project in this laboratory while he was attending a meeting in Midgar." Miles turned around to look back at Cloud. "You know, it's funny," he said with a laugh. "At first I thought you two were failures left over from his reunion experiment. It wasn't until I read his notes, I realized that he had big plans for you two. My task was simple; make sure you two were fed and help him with the last stage of his experiment when he returned." Miles then frowned at Cloud, taking a step towards him. "But then your friend had to go and ruin everything. He was the reason I lost my only chance to work with the great Hojo."

Although he couldn't remember the event, Cloud knew what Miles was referring to. Miles must have been the scientist Zack attacked when they escaped the mansion after being held captive for four years.

"What does this have to do with Tifa?" Cloud snapped at Miles.

Sensing Cloud's frustration, Miles smiled again. "My original plan was to capture you and kill you," he explained. Miles walked over to Cloud, kneeling in front of him so their faces were inches apart. "But once you hinted about Tifa's _condition_ I had a better idea. Why should I simply kill you when I can force you to watch as I use Tifa to create my very own and more powerful SOLDIER?" Miles jumped up with excitement. "Not only will it be stronger than Sephiroth, unlike Sephiroth, it will be completely under my control."

Hearing Miles talk about his plans for Tifa and his unborn child enraged Cloud. He started struggling with his chains trying to break free but was still too weak. He hadn't felt this kind of rage since Sephiroth killed Aerith.

Seeing Cloud's anger made Miles laugh. He reaches into his pants pocket and pulled out his PHS.

"I guess I lied about losing my phone." Miles pressed the button on the side turning it on, then flipped the device open examining the screen and smiled. "Those Turks always think they are smarter than everyone else," Miles commented, then looked back at Cloud before closing his phone. "Well, it looks like it's time for me to leave." He laid the phone down on the desk and walked towards the door. "I'll be sure to say hello to Tifa for you," he informed Cloud before exiting the room.

With Miles gone, Cloud continued to struggle with his chains. He tried pulling his hands through the cuffs, but they were too tight. He could feel blood dripping down his arms from all the struggling and rubbing on his wrists. He knew there was nothing he could do until his strength returned but continued to struggle anyways, hoping to find a defect in his restraints. He wondered how long he was unconscious for. He knew it must have been over a day for Miles to have enough time to clear out Tifa and the other person. He couldn't stop thinking about Tifa and what Miles was doing to her. He wondered where he could have taken her.

Cloud sat alone in the room waiting for his strength to return. He didn't know how much time had passed but it felt like hours. He stopped struggling when he heard a faint noise. He could hear footsteps slowly walking outside. The footsteps stop short of the door and there was a pause like the person on the other side was pausing to listen for anyone inside.

Not knowing who it was, Cloud didn't make a noise as to not draw attention to himself. Cloud heard a click and looked to his right to see the doorknob turn and the door slowly open. He immediately recognized the dark suit and red-haired figure that walked into the room.

"Reno," Cloud called out to the Turk.

Hearing Cloud's voice, Reno looked down at him. "Cloud!" he yelled, surprised to see the blond chained to the wall next to him.

The Turk took out his electro-mag rod and smashed Cloud's restrains setting him free. Stiff and sore, Cloud slowly lowered his arms in front of him with his hands still shackled. Seeing him struggle, Reno kneeled next to Cloud and pulled out two lock-pics from his inside jacket pock. Cloud held us his hands allowing Reno to pick the locks on his shackles. It didn't take long for Reno to unlock them, setting the blond free.

Cloud placed his hands on the floor and tried to push himself up using the wall he was leaning on as support. His legs were wobbly and almost collapsed from under him, still weak from the tranquilizers. Seeing Cloud was having trouble standing, Reno stood up and took hold of Cloud's arm.

"What happened to you?" Reno asked. "Everyone was starting to think you were dead."

"How long have I been gone?" Could asked.

"At least two days," Reno explained. "A lot has happened since you disappeared. Tseng and Elena managed to contact us after their helicopter crashed so we picked them up and took them to Junon."

Reno then proceeded to fill him in on everything that happened while he was imprisoned. After they rescued their fellow Turks, they received a call informing them that Edge and Corel were under attack. Reeve sent fighters to go help Corel while they went to Edge to help Vincent. Reno explained that by the time they arrived, Edge was damaged and there were many casualties. Genesis copies managed to capture Shelke and Yuffie. They were the only two taken because Nanakin took the children to safety while the two girls fought off the creatures. After the attack, Vincent filled them on Genesis' plan.

The Turks took Vincent and the others as far as Junon so they could gather supplies and looked for their comrades. By that time, Cloud and Tifa had been missing for over a day and Vincent told everyone about Genesis taking Tifa and Cloud going to the Mt. Nebil reactor to look for her. They went to the reactor and discovered that someone turned the power back on, but nobody was there.

"We were just leaving the reactor to come here when Miles' tracking devise was reactivated leading us to this dump," Reno informed Cloud while holding up the phone Miles left on the desk.

"Why were you tracking Miles?" Cloud asked. "He's the one who chained me up and he has Tifa."

Thinking about Miles and Tifa was starting to make him angry again, but right now he was using all his strength to focus on standing.

Reno smirked. "It was Tseng's idea to use a tracking devise," he explained. "We have a saying in the Turks; never trust a Shinra Scientist. I guess Tseng was right, now Rude owes him ten gil."

"I think Miles knew you were coming," Cloud explained. "He moved Tifa somewhere, I need to find her."

"She might be with Shelke and Yuffie," Reno suggested. "The others looked everywhere but they don't know where the copies took them."

"Miles needs a laboratory," Cloud thought out loud. "Do you know any other Shinra laboratories that are still operational?"

Reno paused to think. "Well, the science department had a big budget. Almost all Shinra's properties have a laboratory or research facility in them. Let's get back to the helicopter, the director might know which laboratories are still functional."

Reno looked around the room and spotted Cloud's sword leaning against a bookcase. He walked over to retrieve it for his injured friend, but the weight of the sword stopped him in his tracks.

"Shit man, you carry this thing around with you?" Reno commented.

With a little extra effort, he swung the sword onto his shoulder and walked back over to Cloud. The two left the basement with Reno assisting the weakened Cloud.

It was daylight when they exited the manor.

Reno stopped at the entrance and looked around. "Yo, Rude," he called out.

To the left they could hear something moving in the bushes. A few seconds later, Rude stepped out while brushing himself off. He looked a little surprised to see Cloud with Reno.

"The choppers out back," Reno advised Cloud and all three of them walked towards the back of the mansion.


	8. Chapter 8

As the helicopter approached Junon, Cloud could see that the WRO headquarters and surrounding buildings took the brunt of the attack. The WRO building had extensive damage to the outside and even had a huge hole blown through the third floor.

"As you can see, they targeted the headquarters," Reno informed Cloud, knowing what he was thinking. "They infiltrated the building and starting massacring people."

After landing, the three made their way to the WRO headquarters to meet up with the others. Barret, Vincent, Cid, Reeve, Elena, and Tseng were in the conference room trying to plan their next course of action when Cloud and the two Turks arrived. Everyone was happy to see Cloud was alive, but their joy was not long-lived after Cloud filled them in on Tifa and Miles.

After hearing Cloud's story, Reeve had grim expression on his face. "I did an extensive background check and there was no evidence that Miles ever worked under Hojo," the commissioner explained.

Cloud proceeded to fill the others in on his conversation with Genesis and what Miles said to him. Based on the information they had, no one could tell how Genesis and Miles were even connected other than they were obviously working together.

Then Cloud remembered that Miles had an unknown male in one of the mako chambers in the basement. He wondered if that other body was Weiss and Miles was helping Genesis revive him.

"They need access to a laboratory and mako to complete their plan," Cloud informed the group. He looked over at Reeve and then at Tseng. "Do you know of any reactors or laboratories they can access?" he asked the ex-Shinra executives.

"The only reactors I’m aware of, that we haven't already destroyed, are the Corel, Junon, and Mt. Nible reactors," Reeve informed the blond. "But we searched them all when you and Tifa went missing."

Reeve looked towards the Turk leader to see if he had any information to add, but Tseng appeared deep in thought.

Realizing everyone was looking at him, Tseng began to speak. "There was a mako excavation facility near Modehiem, but it was shut down over a decade ago," he explained. "Last I heard, it was destroyed after an incident involving Genesis and Hollander."

Most of the people in the room had never heard of Modehiem because the small town was abandoned years ago and was in an isolated area up north.

"That's the thing about Shinra," Reeve explained. "You shouldn't trust anything you read or hear unless you've seen it with your own eyes."

"Let’s go check it out," Cid directed the group, eager to finally do something to help his missing friends.

With that said, they all proceeded to gather supplies and board the Shera.

*****

When Yuffie finally regained consciousness, she was cold, and her head was pounding. The last thing she remembered she was struggling with this flying man before being hit over the head with his gun. She tried to move but her hands were shackled to the wall in the dark and cold room. She had no idea where she was, but it felt like she was either in a freezer or somewhere up north. It didn't help that she was wearing a tank top and shorts.

Yuffie looked around and could tell she was in a large room. She could just make out a faint glowing green light off in the distance. She struggled with her shackles to test their strength but was careful not to make too much noise; she did not want to alert anyone nearby. Luckily, being a stealthy ninja, her restraints were easy to slip out of. 

Once she was able to free herself, she surveyed the room. She could see a door to her right, which she assumed would lead to a way out. She was about to walk towards the door when she heard voices coming from the other side of the large room. It sounded like it was coming from the direction of the glowing light.

Yuffie's curiosity got the best of her and she slowly walked towards the noise keeping an eye out for any trouble. As she walked towards the light, she could see row upon row of mako pods. The pods closest to her were dark and empty with the ones furthest from her full of mako, the cause of the eerie glow.

She used the dark empty pods as cover as she made her way towards the noise until she was able to make out what was being said. As soon as she was within earshot, she stood behind a pod and listened.

"It's been over a day since we brought him here and you haven't even started yet," she heard one male voice say.

"These things take time." Yuffie heard a familiar voice respond. "I wanted to make sure she was as strong as possible. If a blood transfusion won't help regenerate him, then we will use her body as a host as a last resort."

Curious, Yuffie peeked around the empty mako pod to see if she could make out the people talking. She peered out from the row of pods to see a bright white light shining down from the ceiling onto twin metal tables. On one table she could see a guy with long spiky hair and on the other table she spotted Shelke.

There was a long plastic tube full of blood connecting the two lifeless bodies. She jumped back behind the pod when she noticed one of the men walk in front of the table, obstructing her view of Shelke.

"And what do you plan to do with her?" the unfamiliar voice asked.

Yuffie peeked around again to see a man facing her direction gazing into a pod in the front row. Yuffie jumped back behind her cover, hoping he didn't see her. The man looked exactly like the people who attacked Edge with the same face and one black wing.

"She is going to prove very useful," the familiar voice told the winged man. "Consider it payment for showing you how to make copies using monsters like Angeal."

"And just because we know how to make the copies, it doesn't mean you should go around trying to turn every monster you find," the winged man replied, starting to sound a little annoyed.  “We had strict orders. And I thought the materia we retrieved from Cosmo Canyon was your payment."

"Don’t forget, I secured you a sample of Cloud's blood," the other man snapped at the winged man. "Don't you need it to cure your degradation? Are we really going to start keeping score?"

"And you allowed him to live, that was not part of the plan," the winged man retorted and gestured to the pod he was looking into. "You know he's not going to stop until he finds her."

Listening to the freaky man, Yuffie covered her mouth making sure not to let out a noise. She wasn't certain, but she feared Tifa was in that pod.

"He'll agree once he sees what I have planned for her," the man's voice responded, calming down a little. "I have already completed the first stage, now all we have to do is wait."

Yuffie peaked around the pod again to see if she could get a view of the man with the familiar voice. When she looked around, the winged man was no longer obstructing her view. She could just make out the other figure now standing over Shelke's lifeless body. She tried focusing and could see the guy's clothes in the light, but he was looking down, so she was unable to see his face. He was wearing a white lab coat and had short brown hair. Then he looked up and she realized it was Miles' voice she recognized.

"That little creep," Yuffie whispered to herself, furious at Miles' betrayal.

She wondered if the others knew about Miles and his plan. The winged man was pacing in front of the tables with his hands clasped behind his back like he was anxious or nervous.

"If Cloud shows up and jeopardizes his recovery," the winged man threatened Miles. "You will live to regret it."

"Don't worry," Miles assured the man. "I activated the chip. I hope Cloud shows up, I am curious to see the results."

"You're too confident," the winged man informed the scientist. "Where is the blood sample you took from Cloud anyways?"

"Don't worry, it's safely aboard the airship," Miles explained. "I will give it to you once you have finished your Junon assignment."

Yuffie figured she heard enough. She knew she would not be able to stop the winged man by herself, since she did not have her weapon with her, but she could try to warn the others. She reached into her pocket to retrieve her cell phone but was dismayed when she discovered that there was no signal.

"Shit," Yuffie thought to herself. The only thing she could think of was to try to find a way out of here and hopefully her phone would have a signal outside.

Yuffie carefully made her way towards the exit she had located earlier and walked into a long hallway. She kept an eye out for monsters or any other enemies, but so far, the corridors seemed to be empty. She traveled through the dark hallways with only a few ceiling lights lighting the way. She noticed that it was getting colder the further she travelled so she assumed she was heading towards the exit. By this point, she knew she was somewhere up north. The last time she felt this cold she was travelling with her friends trying to track down Sephiroth in the Northern Creator.

After wondering around for a few minutes, she was finally able to find a door at the end of a hallway with a sign marked 'exit' above it. She pushed on the door and opened it only to find herself in the middle of a freaking snow storm and up to her knees in snow.

"Well, this sucks," she said out loud while reaching for her phone. She looked only to discover that it still had no signal. "This is not my day," she complained to herself as she closed her PHS.

Then, for some reason, she noticed the shadow of something above her reflect off the blowing snow. She looked up to see dozens of those winged people flying above her, circling the structure she emerged from.

"I guess I spoke too soon," she told herself, gazing up at the creatures hoping none of them noticed her.

Suddenly, one of them must have spotted her because she heard a loud sound come from above and the swarm began to fly in unison towards her. As soon as one dove down, the rest followed, prompting Yuffie to run as fast as she could through the deep snow. Luckily, she was a fast runner, but she knew she could not outrun them for very long.

Yuffie looked back through the blowing snow and could see them quickly gaining on her. Then, off in the distance, she heard a helicopter. It seemed like they heard it too because half of them suddenly took off.

Yuffie looked back again to see the helicopter hovering next to the building she exited from. The chopper was now being bombarded by the flying people and only a few were still chasing her. They must have sensed that the helicopter was the biggest threat.

She spotted the Shinra logo on the chopper and knew it was her friends. She could see a few people jump from it while the others fended off the chopper with guns.

Yuffie did not have much time to see her friends in action before they were surrounded and swarmed by the flying men. She looked around and realized she too was surrounded by four of them with no weapon to defend herself with.

One of the Genesis copies raised his gun to take aim at her, when suddenly, she heard a loud bang and he dropped to the ground dead. Behind him stood Rude pointing a gun with Reno standing next to him holding his electro-mag rod.

Seeing their companion fall to the ground dead, two of the copies took off towards the two Turks while the remaining one rushed Yuffie with his sword held high. Yuffie was able to dodge the attack and deliver a swift kick to the face. Before her attacker had a chance to retaliate, Reno was behind him and delivered a blow to the back of its head with his rod, knocking him unconscious.

"Thanks," the young ninja said to the red-haired Turk. "Where's Cloud?" she asked. After the conversation she heard inside, she knew she had to get to Cloud quickly before he reached Miles.

"We just dropped him off at the emergency exit in the back," Rude explained, walking up towards Yuffie and Reno. "We're the distraction while he sneaks in."

"No, it's a trap!" she warned the two. "They are expecting him!"

Hearing that, Reno looked around. "Well, we're not going in that way," he said, motioning to the chaos still going on near the exit Yuffie escaped from.

By this time, the helicopter was hovering high in the sky with Elena and Reeve hanging out of opposite sides, shooting at the flying Genesis copies with assault rifles. At the same time, Vincent, Barret, and Cid were on the ground fighting the rest of them.

"This way," Reno advised Rude and Yuffie before running towards their helicopter parked behind a hanger next to the main facility.

"How many of these things do you have?" Yuffie asked the redhead as they approached the helicopter.

Over the past few years she had seen these two Turks destroy their share of helicopters and they never seem to run out. She figured with the fall of Shinra, they would have a limited supply.

The three entered the chopper and took off towards the back of the main facility where they dropped Cloud off. Hopefully they could catch up with him before it was too late.


	9. Chapter 9

Despite being trapped inside a mako pod, Tifa could hear everything that going on around her. Prior to becoming Miles' prisoner, the last thing she remembered was sleeping next to Cloud in Cosmo Canyon before awaking was inside this mako chamber. She regained consciousness a day ago, but her body was still sedated. She was now able to see everything going on around her and could hear their muffled voices. She wondered if Miles did this to her on purpose.

She witnessed Miles inject Genesis with Jenova cells and assumed he did the same to her when she was unconscious. Listening to Miles, she learned that he managed to retrieve some Jenova cells from Hojo's laboratory before the fall of Shinra and preserved the samples to use in his experiments.

Words could not describe the anger she felt towards him for what he exposed her and her unborn child to. She didn't know exactly what he did to her, but she could tell he did something because she felt...different.

Since Tifa regained consciousness, she had been using every ounce of strength to try to fight the paralysis and free herself. Luckily, over the last few hours she could feel herself growing stronger, and mustering all her strength, she was now able to slightly move her fingers. She knew it would not be long before she would be able to gain control of her entire body.

As Tifa looked through her mako filled cell, she could see Miles standing over Weiss while taking a tube out of his arm. He proceeded to inject the unconscious man with something, then turned to Shelke to remove the tube out of her arm. Tifa was relieved to see that Shelke was still breathing, meaning Miles' procedure did not kill her. 

Genesis was standing a few feet away from the table watching Miles work. From what Tifa had overheard, it sounded like they mistrusted each other and seemed to argue a lot.

Tifa switched her gaze back to Miles who was standing over Weiss. She noticed that he was now awake and looking up at Miles. Seeing Weiss awake, Genesis took a few steps closer to him while Miles turned towards the table of supplies behind them.

"You're awake, how do you feel?" Genesis asked Weiss.

"Like a new man," Weiss smiled before looking over at the unconscious Shelke lying on the table next to him.

With the way Weiss was looking at Shelke, Tifa feared he was going to hurt her.

Suddenly, Genesis turned his attention to a computer monitor located on a table next to some of Miles' equipment. It was hard for Tifa to make out, but it looked like the monitor was for a security camera outside and there was movement on the screen. Noticing what Genesis was looking at, Weiss shifted his attention away from the girl.

"What is it brother?" Weiss asked.

"It looks like we have company," Genesis explained. "Do you feel up for a fight?"

Weiss smiled. "Do you have my swords?" he asked.

Genesis smiled back and nodded. Then he looked closer at the monitor.

"It looks like your old friend is out front waiting for you," he explained, motioning to the screen with the image to Vincent fighting the Genesis copies with the others.

"I guess that leaves Cloud to me," Genesis looked over at Miles.

"Take this," Miles said as he passed Genesis a small remote like device, "and remember what I told you."

Although the sounds around her were muffled, Tifa had overheard Miles describe what happened to Cloud when he was held captive in that basement. She learned that many years ago, Cloud and Zack were experimented on by Hojo as part of his reunion theory. Hojo hypothesized that all Jenova cells separated from her body will be drawn back to her. After the Nibelhiem incident, Hojo took the surviving villagers and injected them with Jenova cells to test one part of his theory.

Tifa knew that Hojo's theory was right because when they were chasing Sephiroth they came across hooded figures near the Northern Creator and in Nibelhiem. They had numbered tattoos and were obsessed with the reunion. Tifa assumed these were the people whom Hojo experimented on and were instinctively drawn to Jenova.

Hojo also hypothesized that Jenova was able to control weaker beings that possessed its cells. He also believed that stronger beings with Jenova cells could control the weaker beings. Hojo used this premise for his experiment on Cloud and Zack. His goal was to create beings as strong as Sephiroth but under his control. He proceeded to make them stronger physically using Mako and Jenova cells, but he installed a chip in their brains that inhibited part of their mind allowing them to be easily controlled. This was the reason Hojo injected himself with Jenova cells because his plan was to control Cloud and Zack, and eventually, his own personal army.

Tifa wondered if this was how Sephiroth took control of Cloud and forced him to hand over the black materia years ago. This would have explained why Cloud had an identity crisis when she first ran into him in Midgar, and why he was so easily manipulated by Sephiroth up until she helped him find his real self in the lifestream. The device that Tifa saw Miles hand Genesis was a failsafe switch Miles created. If Cloud became strong enough to overcome Genesis' control, which Miles predicted might happen, the switch will send a signal to Hojo's microchip leaving him incapacitated.

Tifa knew that Cloud was nearby, and this worried her. Cloud had no idea what they had planned for him. She knew she had to help him before it was too late. Her mind began to race, she just wished there was a way she could warn him.

Tifa could feel herself becoming stronger and thinking about Cloud was helping. Slowly she was gaining more control of her body and was now able to move most of her arms. She knew it would not be long before she would be able to free herself.

Miles must have noticed Tifa move because he looked over and proceeded to walk towards her pod, examining it. Tifa stayed motionless trying not to alert her captors to her newfound ability.

"What is it?" Genesis asked, realizing something caught Miles' attention.

Miles examined the pod, taping it with his finger to see if it would stir a reaction, but Tifa didn't budge.

"Nothing," Miles answered. "You two should get going, Cloud will be here soon."

Weiss left to go intercept Tifa’s friends while Genesis waited nearby for Cloud to arrive.

*****

When Cloud entered the building, he was surprised to find the place empty. It was dimly lit and full of long maze-like corridors. He raced down the hallways, eager to find Tifa and Shelke. He was still feeling weak from the tranquilizer, but he pushed forward with all his strength. For the first time in years, his sword was feeling heavy on his back but at least his adrenalin was giving him a boost.

Could wondered the corridors guessing on which way to go. He finally turned a corner leading to another hallway, at the end of this hallway was an opened door leading into a dark room. He was about to run towards the opening when someone emerged from it.

Genesis walked out into the dimly lit hallway holding a sword. Cloud could see that he was holding something in his other hand but couldn't make out what.

Cloud reached for his sword, ready to fight. He knew he had to get through Genesis in order to reach Tifa. He was still a little weak and he had to assume Genesis knew this. Cloud knew this was going to be a tough battle and all he could do was think about Tifa for motivation and strength. Without saying a word, Cloud rushed the ex-SOLDIER.

Genesis just stood there as Cloud ran towards him with his sword raised. Suddenly, Cloud's head started to hurt but he tried to ignore it. "This is not a good time for a headache," Could thought to himself.

Cloud was just a few feet away from Genesis when the pain in his head intensified and something caused him to stop in his tracks. He stood in front of his foe with his sword still raised but unable to move his legs. Cloud swung his sword to see if he could hit Genesis, but his opponent was a foot short. He looked at Genesis who just stood there staring at him with an evil grin on his face.

"What did you do to me?" Cloud asked, bewildered and angry. Cloud struggled with all his might trying to move his feet. He wondered if this was a side effect of the tranquilizer Miles gave him, or something else.

Genesis laughed. He was enjoying every minute of this. "Stop resisting," Genesis directed. "I can control your every move." Genesis made Cloud drop his sword to the ground. "Now kneel before me," he ordered Cloud as he forced the blond onto his hands and knees.

Cloud was struggling the whole time, but it was futile. The last time he felt like this, he almost struck Aerith with his sword when she was praying before him in the city of the Ancients.

"How was Genesis able to control me like this?" Cloud thought to himself.

"Fight all you want, but there is nothing you can do now," Genesis explained. "As we speak, your friends are being introduced to my new and improved brother along with more of my copies." Genesis took a step towards Cloud who was still on his hands and knees, struggling to keep himself up. "And let's not forget your pretty little girlfriend," Genesis added as he kneeled on the ground bringing his face close to Cloud's ear. "You won't recognize her when we're through with her," he whispered, trying to provoke the blond.

That comment caused a wave of fury to pass through Cloud's whole body. Thinking about what they were doing to Tifa caused him to become enraged, giving him an extra boost of strength. Cloud knew if he concentrated enough, he could overcome Genesis' control. It felt just like when Sephiroth had control over him years ago. Overtime, he slowly learned how to fight off Sephiroth's influence and he knew he could do it again. Focusing all his strength, Cloud was able to gain control of his right hand and slid it over to his sword lying on the ground next to him. As soon as he had a grip of the handle, Cloud mustered every ounce of strength he had left and swung his weapon. Genesis jumped back, dogging the attack except the tip of Cloud's sword that had just managed to graze Genesis' right cheek. The distraction allowed Cloud the opportunity to gain back full control of his body. He wasted no time relentlessly attacking his enemy.

Genesis unsheathed his sword and was able to counter Cloud's every blow as he was bombarded by the young blond. Genesis knew he hit a nerve and enraged Cloud but that was exactly what he was trying to do.

Cloud had to work extra hard trying to mentally block Genesis while delivering blow after blow. Luckily, the more Cloud fought it, the easier it became.

The thought of saving Tifa allowed him to tap into a strength he never knew he had. He had not felt this empowered since the last time he fought the reincarnated Sephiroth with a little motivation from the spirit of his friend Zack.

"I got this," Cloud thought to himself as he leaped up into the air and delivered another blow.


	10. Chapter 10

Reno, Rude, and Yuffie were running down the corridors with Yuffie in the lead, followed by the two Turks. The corridors were empty, dark, and maze-like. Yuffie did not know which way to go and it was starting to feel like they were running in circles. Up ahead of them, the hallway split into two like a T and something was telling her to turn left. She was about to turn the corner when someone pulled her back just before a sword swung down in front of her, missing her.

With both feet off the ground she looked up to see Rude standing behind her, holding her by the shirt. After he let her go, she nodded thanks to the bald Turk and then looked ahead to see Weiss turn the corner facing them with his sword gun raised.

Before Weiss could do anything, Rude had his gun out and started shooting. This forced the Tsviet to jump back around the corner.

Yuffie did not have a weapon and there was no way her martial arts skills would be any match in a gun fight. As if reading her mind, Reno pulled out a gun and handed it to her. It was not her ideal choice of weapon, but she knew how to use one, so she accepted it and released the safety.

"What I wouldn't give for some materia right now," Yuffie thought to herself as Weiss stuck his sword out around the corner and fired three rounds, missing them.

Instead of sticking around to fight, the spiky haired man made a break down the other hallway to the right with the Yuffie and the Turks in pursuit. He was much faster than them and was able to doge every bullet Rude and Yuffie shot in his direction. It was like he was able to predict their shots.

Weiss fled through a door at the end of the hallway. It took a few seconds before the three reached the same door and entered. On the other side was another big warehouse like room with high ceilings. It so dark they could not see where the room ended. There were three dim and flickering lights hanging over them by the entrance, but the rest of the room was pitched black. Weiss was nowhere to be found but they could hear noises off in the distance.

Reno looked behind him and located a light switch by the door, so he flicked it with his nightstick. A few more lights flickered and turned on lighting up part of the room, but the far end was still very dark. They could just make out the outline of Weiss standing amongst a large group of oddly shaped shadows.

As the lights started to warm up it grew a little brighter and the three were able to make out the other shapes. Weiss was surrounded by a large group of about thirty monsters, all with Genesis faces. They were monsters that the three recognize from all over the planet, including monsters that were exclusive to the Shinra Mansion.

Reno turned around and tried to open the door, but it was locked on their side. "Shit," Reno commented out loud. He then turned around and flicked the switch on his rod.

Weiss smiled wickedly at them when suddenly, as if under his control, all the monsters rushed the two Turks and Yuffie.

Having no choice but to fight, the three separate themselves so they could focus on a small group of monsters while watching each other's backs. Many of the monsters were ground monsters with a dozen flying ones. Rude and Yuffie proceeded to shoot at the flying monsters while Reno focused on the ground monsters with his electric nightstick.

Yuffie emptied a clip and called out to Reno who pulled a full clip out of his jacket pocket and threw it towards her. She caught it, loaded her gun, and continued shooting.

The three were doing a decent job keeping the monsters at bay considering how outnumbered they were. After Rude ran out of ammo, he put his gun away and lifted his fists, ready to fight with his hands. Yuffie did the same once she ran out of ammo.

In the heat of battle, Yuffie looked around and could not see Weiss anywhere. She assumed he was either hiding or used the commotion as a chance to escape. She looked over at Rude who seemed to be holding his own against three Ceaser monsters. She then proceeded to deliver a roundhouse kick to the Dorky Face she was battling.

Suddenly, a ringing noise came from Reno's direction, catching her attention. She looked over to see Reno reach into his pocket and pull out his cell phone. She couldn't help but wonder how his phone had a signal this far up north and made a mental note to ask him who his service provider was when they were out of this mess.

"Yo," Reno said, answering his phone with his right hand while electrocuting a cat like creature with his left. "It's about time!" he exclaimed to the person on the phone. "We could really use some help!" Reno paused for a second as he listened before responding. "How the hell should I know?" he said rudely while knocking a creature upside the head with his rod. "Why don't you try the GPS?!"

As soon as the redhead said that, Yuffie could make out the sound of a woman yelling at him through the phone, despite her being a few feet away from him.

Reno moved the phone a few inches away from his ear until the yelling stopped. "I'm sorry," Reno sighed into the phone. "We could REALLY use your help PLEASE," he said nicely then hung up the phone.

Yuffie looked over to Rude who also appeared to be listening in on Reno's conversation while fending off a monster. They were a little more than half way through the group at this point. Most of the monsters were not overly strong, except for the ones from the Shinra Manor and the Mt. Nibel area.

Rude was surrounded by dead or unconscious monsters with one Ghirofelgo giving him a bit of trouble.

Suddenly, as if sensing their progress, Yuffie felt and heard a low rumble coming from across the large room. She looked towards the noise that was coming from a dark corner of the warehouse. Peering into the darkness, she could just make out a glowing pair of eyes that appeared to be moving. She then heard another low rumble, followed by a loud roar that shook the ground.

As soon as she heard the noise, she knew exactly what they were dealing with. She recognized the noise from travelling through the Mt. Nibel area with her friends years ago. Before the echo of the roar could subside, a large beast approached and stepped out into the light confirming what Yuffie feared; a dragon.

Noticing the dragon, Reno and Rude stop fighting for a second, startled that they missed such a large creature hiding on the other side of the room.

Noticing the three humans fighting with the other monsters, the dragon let out a louder roar and extended out its monstrous wings as if it was casually stretching after a long nap. It then proceeded to walk towards the fighting group. As it drew closer, Yuffie noticed that this monster did not have a Genesis face like all the others.

"Why the hell did they bring that thing here?" Reno wondered out loud.

The last handful of monsters continued attacking as if they didn't even notice the huge dragon approaching casually. The three were able to fend off the monsters' attacks but they were more concerned with the dragon, that luckily did not seem to be in a rush to reach them.

Right when the dragon was half-way across the room, the three heard a large explosion causing the ground to shake. Less than a second later, they heard another boom but this time the ceiling closer to the dragon crumbled in. Some of the rubble fell from above, hitting the dragon and drawing its attention.

Suddenly, gunshots came flying through the hole, hitting the dragon but not causing any serious injury. The dragon looked up in the direction of the incoming bullets and roared in anger. It then proceeded to jump up through the hole and chase after its attacker.

A few seconds after the dragon left, Barret and Cid came jumping down through the hole and assisted the others with fighting the remaining monsters. After the last monster fell, everyone could hear the gunfire echoing in from outside.

"We should go help them," Yuffie advised her friends. She assumed there was an alternative exit that Weiss must have escaped through.

The group ran to the other side of the warehouse and found an exit leading outside.

Outside, the helicopter was hovering in the air dodging the dragon's attacks while Reeve and Elena bombarded the creature with machine gun bullets. The bullets appeared to have no effect on the dragon's metal-like scales. Every time the dragon took a dive, the helicopter would move just in time, avoiding its attacks.

Barret then started to shoot at the dragon from the ground drawing its attention while the two in the helicopter continued to shoot at it from behind. This only angered the dragon because it did not know whom to attack.

Making a decision, the dragon focused on Barret and looked like it was about to dive towards him, but the helicopter maneuvered closer and continued shooting. Suddenly, the Dragon turned and swiped at the helicopter. Tseng almost avoided the attack, but the dragon managed to hit one of the top propellers breaking it clean off.

The helicopter started to wobble midair, leaving Tseng with no choice but to make an emergency landing. It was a rough land, but he managed to touch ground without crashing. The three exited the helicopter and ran to meet the others by the warehouse. Realizing all its targets were on the ground, the dragon looked down and started to prepare for a drive.

"What are we going to do?" Elena asked. "Bullets aren't working."

Cid, who had been standing closest to the warehouse door casually smoking his cigarette, took one last drag of his smoke before speaking. "I got this," he said, flicking his butt into the snowbank next to him and grabbed his spear. He then proceeded to run and jump high up into the air as the dragon approached the group. The group watched as Cid came crashing down spear first on top of the dragon, right through its eye and into its head. The dragon fell dead immediately, crashing into the ground and stopping just feet away from the group. Cid then proceeded to forcefully pull his spear out from the dragon's head and walked over to the others like nothing happened.

"Wow..." Yuffie said while the others stood there in awe. "Soooo, does anyone know where to find Cloud?"

"The front entrance to the facility is over there," Tseng replied, pointing up towards the tallest structure a few buildings over. "I assume they are keeping the prisoners in main building."

"Where's Vincent?" Yuffie asked, looking around.

She finally realized he was no longer with the group and the last she saw him he was fighting with Cid and Barret.

"He saw someone running from this building just when we arrived and took off after him," Elena replied.

"Must have been Weiss," Yuffie explained.

With all the monsters subdued, the group proceeded to make their way towards the main structure in search for their friends.


	11. Chapter 11

Using all the strength he could muster, Cloud continued to attack Genesis relentlessly. After a series of strikes, Cloud jumped back with his sword raised and waited to see if his opponent had enough.

Genesis took this opportunity to reach into his pocket and pull out the switch Miles gave him. He pressed the button, holding it down.

Almost instantly, Cloud dropped his sword and fell to his knees while holding his head in anguish. Cloud have never felt a pain like this, and he had been impaled on more than one occasion. It felt as if something was ripping through his brain while trying to escape his skull. As the pain became unbearable, Cloud let out an agonizing scream.

*****

There was no doubt in Tifa's mind whom that scream belonged to—she knew Cloud was in trouble and she had to go help him. Instantly, a wave of adrenalin rushed through her body giving her the strength she needed to escape her enclosure.

Miles looked up from his work to see Tifa move inside the mako chamber. Miles was about to approach her when the pod exploded causing shards of glass and mako to fly across the room. Miles raised his arms to shield himself from the cell's fragments. Before he even had a chance to look up, Tifa rushed him and grabbed him by the neck. She forcefully slammed him up against another pod, pinning him so hard the glass cracked behind him. Miles gasped for air as Tifa tightened her grip on his neck.

As Tifa choked Miles a sharp pain was starting to run from her head down through her body which she assumed was a reaction from the combination of mako and adrenalin. Tifa used every ounce of strength to fight the pain and concentrated on hurting Miles.

"St-stop...he's killing him...Ki-kill Genesis before...too late." Miles was barely able to speak as Tifa crushed his windpipe.

Cloud's screams were still audible in the background as Miles spoke. Instantly, Tifa released Miles by throwing him across the room like a ragdoll and raced towards the sound of Cloud's screams.

As she drew closer to the exit, she could see Genesis standing over Cloud who was kneeling on the ground holding his head in pain. Tifa was moving so fast Genesis didn't even hear her approach. She rushed towards Genesis, kicking him in the back and sending him flying in the air over Cloud. Genesis hit the ground hard and rolled across the hallway before finally catching himself.

The trigger Genesis was holding dropped to the ground next to Tifa and Cloud. Seeing it, Tifa walked over and destroyed it with her foot.

With the pain starting to subside, Cloud took a few seconds to compose himself before struggling to stand up.

Tifa walked over to help him up before looking back towards Genesis. She was ready to finish him off, but he was nowhere to be seen. Part of her wanted to go track him down but she ignored the nagging feeling and decided to focus on Cloud.

"Are you okay?" Tifa asked her partner.

It has been a few days since they last seen each other and as soon as she touched him her stress and anger started to diminish.

"I'm fine," Cloud replied before pulling Tifa in and hugging her tight. "How are you? What did he do to you?" he asked eagerly.

Tifa held him for a bit before answering. "I'm fine," she told him, refusing to let go of his embrace. Tifa did not want to go into the details just yet as she knew it would upset him.

Releasing her, Cloud put his hands on her arms trying to look her in the face to see if she was telling him the truth. Tifa was looking down at first, refusing to meet his gaze, but she finally raised her head slowly until they were face to face. When Tifa looked into Cloud's eyes she could see his expression change as soon as he noticed the mako glow. He didn't say anything, but she could tell it upset him.

"Where is he?" Cloud asked through clenched teeth as he tightened the grip on her arms.

Tifa was not surprised at Cloud's reaction but she had never seen him look this angry at her. "In the room with Shelke," she informed him.

Tifa and Cloud walk back into the room and over to the table Shelke was laying on. She was unconscious but breathing. Tifa looked over in the direction she threw Miles, but he was nowhere to be found.

Realizing Miles had fled the scene, Cloud walked over to Shelke and picked her up in his arms. "Let's go," Cloud said softly to Tifa and they exited the room.

The three wandered the corridor maze, staying alert for any surprise attacks. As they turned a corner, both Tifa and Cloud heard the distant sound of footsteps causing them to stop in their tracks.

Cloud gently placed Shelke down on the ground, propped up in a sitting position against the wall. He proceeded to reach for his sword while Tifa prepared herself for battle. As the footsteps drew closer, they realized there were multiple people approaching. Cloud raised his sword ready to attack when suddenly some familiar faces turned the corner towards him.

"Cloud! Tifa!" Yuffie yelled as she ran over to them while the rest of the group smiled, happy to find their missing comrades. Yuffie stopped in her tracks as soon as she noticed Shelke propped up on the floor next to them.

"Is she okay?" Yuffie asked, kneeling so she was facing her friend. "What did he do to you?" she asked the unconscious girl softly as she brushed some of Shelke's hair away from her face.

"She's alive but we need to get her to a doctor," Tifa informed Yuffie.

"Anyone know the way out of here?" Cloud asked the group.

Cloud gently picked up Shelke and his friends proceeded to show him the way out. As the group walked towards the exit, everyone was quiet for the first few minutes until Yuffie broke the silence.

"So, what happened to Miles and Genesis?" Yuffie asked.

"They fled once Tifa escaped," Cloud answered.

"Why do I have the feeling that's not the last we'll be seeing of them," Elena commented.

"You're right," Tifa explained calmly. "Miles has the huge materia and he plans on using it to bring down the WRO." Tifa felt bad for not sounding more concerned, but after what she went through over the last few days, she felt emotionally raw. It had slipped her mind up until now and she was so mentally exhausted everything felt like a daze.

"Do you know what his plans are Tifa?" Reeve asked, sounding concerned.

"All I know is that during the attacks on the cities he had the Genesis copies plant explosives in three locations. He plans on detonating them simultaneously, but he can only detonate them using a special activation code programed into the WRO satellite." Tifa continued to look straight ahead as she answered Reeve, too focused on trying to remember everything she overheard Miles say. "The fourth target he wants to detonate personally," she added, having just remembered that detail.

As Miles' captive, Tifa overheard him rant to Genesis non-stop about his plans for the huge materia. She had no idea why he was doing it, all he talked about was this overcomplicated plan.

"Not the Satellite!" Cid exclaimed, upset over the thought of someone using his baby nefariously. "Shera and I oversaw that whole project, there is no fuckin' way someone tampered with it behind our backs."

"No," Reeve corrected the pilot. "I think he obtained the codes to reprogram the satellite after its launch. One of the Edge murder victims helped program the satellite. Which means he needs to send someone to enter the codes since they failed to do that during the last attack."

Reeve reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone to call ahead and notify the WRO.

Barret, who had been relatively quiet so far, finally spoke up after Reeve finished his call. "But why go through all that trouble?" he asked. "Why doesn't he use a timer or detonator to trigger 'em?"

"He was a Shinra scientist," Reno piped up. "They're all crazy, it's probably just his way at getting back at the WRO."

"Does anyone have any idea who or what he is targeting?" Yuffie asked the group.

That was a question everyone was thinking but nobody was certain of the answer.

"How fitting would it be if he used the WRO satellite to destroy the WRO headquarters," Reno thought out loud.

Then the realization hit everyone, Reno was right.

"Reno, you're a genius," Reeve told the redhead.

There were three WRO offices in three separate cities on the planet. This would explain why the three headquarters were the primary focus of the attacks and why he targeted three locations.

After all that walking, they finally reached the exit and proceeded to trench through the snow. The group used two helicopters to reach the facility, since Cid's ship was too big to land close enough, but with one helicopter damaged, they only had one remaining. Luckily, Cid made sure his airship and crew remained nearby so they could be called for a pickup once they reached higher ground.

"What about the fourth location?" Cid asked.

Tifa was trying her best to think if there was a piece of information she might have missed. It was then that she remembered something and spoke up.

"Miles mentioned having to travel near Kalm," she informed the group impassively. "He said he had an old score to settle." Tifa was looking straight ahead as she talked, not making eye contact with anyone as if she was lost in thought.

"The only thing in that area besides Kalm is the chocobo farm and..." Elena paused. She looked towards Tseng who came to the same realization as a look of concern grew on his face.

"The boss!" Reno and Rude said simultaneously, coming to the same conclusion as their fellow Turks.

Reno reached into his pocket for his phone to call Rufus but there was no answer. At this point, the Turks only had one thing on their mind and that was helping their commander and chief. The four Turks raced towards the helicopter while the rest of the party continued towards the pick-up location. 

Cid called ahead to inform his crew of their approach. As soon as they boarded the airship, the crew had it prepped and ready to go. Cloud handed Shelke to Barret who took her down to the lounge with Yuffie. Cid, Reeve, Cloud, and Tifa proceeded to the bridge to decide on their next move.

"Junon?" Cid asked as he stood at the controls.

Reeve nodded in agreement.

Everyone was silent the first half of the flight. Tifa and Cloud were standing close to each other near the back of the control deck while Reeve stood near Cid as he piloted the aircraft.

Cloud and Tifa knew they had a lot to talk about, but they wanted to wait for a more opportune time. Probably for the best, Tifa had so much on her mind right now, she didn’t feel much like talking anyways.

Shortly after, Barret joined the others on the bridge breaking the silence.

"I just got a text from Vincent," Barret informed his friends. "Weiss and two others escaped in a WRO airship, he is followin' em'."

"It must be Miles and Geneisis," Reeve commented. “He must be using the airship that went missing two weeks ago. We suspected that it was in inside job.”

"Now they won't be able to make a move without Vincent knowin' about it," Cid commented to the others.

The bridge fell silent again as everyone in the room stared out the window, eager to reach Junon.


	12. Chapter 12

It did not take long before for the group to arrive in Junon. As they flew over the city, Tifa was shocked by what she saw. She knew what had happened from listening to Miles, but she was unaware of the extent of the damage until now. Many of the buildings around the WRO were charred and one was partially collapsed. If this was what happened to Junon, she couldn't imagine what Corel and Edge looked like.

As they neared the airbase, Tifa could see a small group of people standing on the tarmac. Reeve had called ahead and made sure a medical crew was waiting for them. As soon as they landed, the paramedics rushed Shelke to the hospital while the others went straight to the WRO Headquarters. Yuffie decided to stay with Shelke to keep her company.

As they neared the WRO building, there were peacekeepers everywhere preventing people from entering due to the evacuation order. As the group walked towards the main entrance, they were greeted by Vincent who had just arrived.

"Vincent," Reeve said, sound a little surprised to see him. "What are you doing here?"

"I was ambushed by Genesis just outside of the city," Vincent informed the group. "He was a diversion, during our battle I witnessed a shuttle exit the airship. Shortly after, Genesis retreated and I lost him, but not before wounding him. I assumed this was their target."

"Genesis must be targeting the control room," Reeve informed Vincent before calling security and entering the building.

Upon entering, the group was greeted by a security guard. "Sir," the guard said, saluting Reeve. "The building has been evacuated and after an extensive sweep, we think we located the explosive device."

"Good, show me where it is," Reeve informed the man, then turned to Barret. "You and I will go try to disarm the explosive while everyone else heads to the control room to stop Genesis."

Barret and Reeve followed the guard while the other three followed Cid towards the control room. Due to the attack earlier, the elevators were inoperable forcing them to take the stairs. They followed Cid through the corridors when Vincent suddenly stopped and kneeled, inspecting a fresh pool of blood. There was a trail of blood drops leading towards the control room.

"Genesis went this way," Vincent informed the others when they stopped to look back at him.

The group continued towards the control room.

"It's through here," Cid informed the others as he turned right and walked through the big doors.

"The control room is in the—"

Cid suddenly stopped talking when he walked into the room to see Weiss standing with his swords raised, waiting for them.

"Want to play?" Weiss asked the group with an evil grin on his face.

Vincent knew this was another distraction while Genesis imputed the codes.

"You go," Vincent directed his friends. "I got this." He immediately raised his gun and fired two shots at Weiss who managed to dodge the attack.

While Vincent fought the Tsviet, the others ran across the room full of equipment and through the double doors leading to the control room. When they entered the room, Genesis, who was standing at the control panel, turned to face them.

"You're too late," the ex-SOLDIER informed them. He grinned while drawing his sword. It was obvious that part of his wing was damaged from Vincent's attack earlier.

Cloud drew his sword while Tifa raised her fists, both ready to fight. But as soon as the two charged at Genesis, he jumped over them and exited the room.

"You two go after him while I deal with this," Cid told the others. He rushed over to the controls to see if he could reverse the codes. After inspecting the controls for a few seconds, Cid sighed and finally pulled out his cell phone before pressing the speed dial.

"Honey," Cid said into his phone. "I need your help..."

Figuring Cid had everything under control, Cloud and Tifa followed Genesis out of the control room. They found Vincent unarmed and Genesis standing in front of their friend with his sword drawn. Both Vincent and Weiss appeared to be injured with Vincent holding his wounded arm and Weiss half standing with a gunshot wound to his shoulder.

Genesis was standing in front Weiss shielding him while Vincent stood on the other side of the room, closer to Could and Tifa. Seeing Vincent injured, Cloud raised his sword and jumped in front of his friend, ready to finish his battle with Genesis.

There was a short pause before the two engaged in battle. Vincent, Tifa, and Weiss watched while Cloud and Genesis settled a score.

Tifa looked down and noticed Vincent's gun. With her friend injured, she reached down to retrieve it for him. As she held the gun, she couldn't help but think about how easy it would be for her to shoot Genesis right now. With all the dirty tricks Genesis and Miles pulled, Tifa would not feel any guilt if she used the weapon to shoot Genesis in the back. Tifa's hands started to shake as she held the weapon, she felt a darkness inside her polluting her mind, driving her to kill Genesis. Tifa was scared, she did not know if it was her anger towards Genesis or the alien cells within her that was causing these murderous thoughts. Tifa nervously glanced over to see Vincent eyeing her as she held his gun, but he remained silent as she slowly raised the weapon.

BANG!

Cloud and Genesis had only just engaged in battle when the loud sound of a gunshot echoed through the room. Genesis, who had his back towards Tifa and Vincent, froze just as his sword struck Cloud's. 

Vincent calmly reached over and took his gun from Tifa.

"Brother!" Weiss yelled, realizing Genesis had been shot.

Cloud looked at Genesis who was staring at him with wide eyes. It looked like shock was about to set in and a little pool of blood was starting to form in the corner of his mouth.

Weiss ran over just when Genesis was about to fall. He tried to catch Genesis with his one good arm, but the weight of the winged man caused the two of them to fall to the ground.

"Brother," Weiss said again as he supported Genesis' head and shoulders.

There was a large wound in Genesis back and the blood was starting to pool all over the flood around the two. Genesis looked like he was trying to say something to Weiss, but no sounds were emerging from his mouth. It did not take long for Genesis to parish in his brother's arms.

Tifa could tell that Cloud was a little shocked by her actions. Cloud walked over by Tifa as she unemotionally watched the scene unfold. Tifa was so preoccupied, she didn't even notice Cloud standing next to her.

Suddenly, Cid came running into the room.

"I did it!" Cid exclaimed happily but stopped in his tracks when he saw what was going on. He walked over to the others and watched as Weiss held his brother.

Weiss looked at Tifa enraged, but being injured and outnumbered, she knew he was not going to attack her. 

Using his last bit of strength, Weiss tried to stand while holding Genesis using his one good arm. He managed to throw the winged man over his good shoulder and slowly exited the room.

A few minutes after Weiss departed, Cloud turned at Vincent who nodded and proceeded to follow them. Everyone knew that the Tsviet would be back to seek revenge for this, so he needed to be followed. 


	13. Chapter 13

Miles was surprised by how easy it was to find his way into the mayor's basement undetected. He would have thought that the former president of such a corrupt and treacherous corporation would have better security measures in place, but there was nothing besides a locked door.

Alone in the basement, Miles set up his device. All he had left to do now was plant and arm the explosives. He planned on triggering it from a safe distance, but close enough so he could personally watch this town's destruction with his own eyes. He smiled at the thought of destroying the town that Rufus put his blood, sweat, and tears into building.

Miles had held a grudge against Rufus Shinra since the vice president signed the order that had him fired from Shinra and the job he worked his whole life to obtain. When his supervisor recommended a demotion at his disciplinary hearing, the president and his executives were so upset with Zack and Cloud's escape they decided to dismiss Miles altogether. They even had the audacity to suggest that he was a traitor to Shinra.

Miles' life was a downward spiral after that and he never forgave Rufus, Shinra senior, and his executives for ruining his dreams. He was equally mad at Cloud and Zack for escaping and it took him years to track down Cloud in order to plan his revenge.

Miles was more than pleased with how his revenge on Cloud and Reeve unfolded. Now his sights were set on Rufus. He had just finished activating the explosive when he realized someone was standing behind him. Before he could react, he felt something hard and cold press against the back of his head. Miles knew it was the barrel of a gun and was sure he knew the person holding it.

"Now what do we have here?" Rufus asked, standing behind the scientist. He cocked the pistol as a warning not to make any sudden moves.

Miles held up his hands slowly to show that he was unarmed. Rufus moved his gun an inch, as Miles turned to face him.

"My apologies for coming unannounced," Miles said, smiling at the mayor with his hands still raised.

"What are you doing down here?" Rufus asked, recognizing Miles.

"Well Mr. Mayor, you may not remember, but I have an old score to settle with you." Miles informed the blond.

"Is that so?" Rufus asked, a little intrigued. "And what score might you be referring to?"

"I won't bore you with the details because I know you don't care," he told the mayor coldly. "Let's just say a long time ago you signed a piece of paper that ruined my life and now you have to pay."

"I have to pay?" Rufus asked. "It's funny you say that because I'm the one holding the gun." Rufus grinned at the man, obviously not taking the threat seriously.

"You may have a gun, but this is an explosive device," Miles explained as he motioned towards the bomb. "It has enough power to wipe this little town off the map and I possess the switch."

"You flinch, and I will shoot you," Rufus warned.

Suddenly, the sound of an explosion was heard in the distance followed by the ground rumbling under them. Rufus looked worried when he heard the faint screams of people outside.

Sensing his worries, Miles grinned evilly. "Right on time," he told the mayor. "You better let me go or they are going to continue attacking your precious town until I order them to stop."

Rufus lowered the gun and used it to motion for Miles to lead the way up the stairs. Rufus followed the man closely with the gun pointed at him. They walked towards the front entrance and when they exited, Rufus appeared horrified to see the extensive damage to the top floor of the hospital and damage to multiple homes.

People were fleeing the damaged buildings while trying to escape the Genesis copies that were attacking from above. Many of the attackers were holding heavy artillery and one even had a bazooka. Upon seeing Miles, they all stopped their attack and awaiting his orders.

"Here is the plan," Miles explained as he turned to face the mayor. "You are going to let me go free and as soon as I am at a safe distance, my friends here are going to retreat peacefully."

Rufus frowned. "Now why would I let you leave when there is a bomb in my basement and you have the detonator?" He raised the gun and pointed it in Miles' face. "How about I shoot you now and deal with your friends myself." 

Miles crossed his eyes for a second focusing on the barrel of the gun aimed at his face. Realizing he might have overstepped his bounds with the mayor, and was close to getting shot, he was starting to think he should just give Rufus what he wanted.

"How about I give you the detonator and you let me leave peacefully?" Miles asked nervously.

Rufus grinned and lower the gun a little bit. "Only if you promise to leave and never come back."

The scientist nodded in agreement and slowly reached into his pocket to retrieve the detonator to give to Rufus. After he handed the device to the mayor, Miles proceeded to walk towards the town's exit as the copies watched. After Miles safely exited the town and out of sight, the copies retreated as promised.

Miles could hear the citizen cheer for their mayor in the distance. As he approached the airship, Miles couldn't help but laugh at Rufus' stupidity. Only a fool would think he would bring the real detonator with him to activate the bomb. Did he think he would really risk blowing the town up with himself in it? All Miles had to do now was go back to his airship to retrieve the real detonator and complete his perfectly executed plan.

Miles was just a few feet away from his airship when, suddenly, it exploded in a ball of fire sending Miles flying a few feet backwards. The explosion was so intense it caused debris to fall all around him. Miles crashed landed on his back, his head hitting hard off the ground. He could feel the intense heat from the burning aircraft. With his body aching, his face burning, and his ears ringing, all Miles could do was lie on the ground looking up as two people approached him.

Reno and Rude stood above the scientist's head with their arms crossed.

"I must say Rude," Reno said, looking over at his partner as if Miles was not even there. "You really do know how to make a great bomb, fine piece of work."

"Shinra technology at its best," Rude explained proudly.

As Miles senses started to come back to him, his mind was racing trying to come up with a plan. He needed his reinforcements, so he attempted to slowly reach into his pocket while the two Turks conversed with each other.

Finally noticing the scientist, Reno pointed his nightstick at Miles. It was less than an inch away from his face and with the weapon so close, Miles could feel the zap of a spark hit the tip of his noise. Miles dropped the phone and slowly raised his hands sheepishly.

"If it's your winged goons you were thinking about calling," Reno informed the scientist, as if he knew what he was trying to do. "Tseng and Elena are taking care of them, and let's just say, Elena is not happy with what they did to her house."

Reno looked over at Rude with his electric rod still pointed at Miles' face.

"'Cause you know what happens when she's mad," the redhead commented to his friend, prompting Rude to nodded in agreement as if he knew all too well. Then Reno turned his attention back to Miles. "That's the last thing you want to do," he informed the hostage with a smile. "Just wait until you see what she'll do to you."

Rude then reached down and grabbed Miles by the upper arm, pulling him up off the ground and onto his feet. "You're coming with us," Rude told Miles as he dragged him back towards the town.


	14. Chapter 14

Cloud, Tifa, Reeve, Barret, and Cid left Junon so they could go track down the other two explosives.

“I just don’t understand,” Reeve commented to the others onboard the Shera. “We were unable to locate any huge materia inside the explosive device.”

They didn’t know if the others were unarmed as well so they figured it was best to check.

“Maybe we stopped them before they could arm it with materia,” Cid suggested.

Since Barret and Reeve knew what the devices looked like, Barret asked to be dropped off in Corel to check for the second one which he assumed would be in the WRO office. After dropping off their friend, Reeve and the others were on their way to Edge to locate the third device. They were all standing on the bridge destined for Edge when Reeve received a call, the bridge was silent as he spoke on the phone.  Once Reeve ended the call, he turned to address the group. 

“I just got off the phone with Reno,” Reeve informed the others. “They have Miles hostage, he tried to attack Healen personally but was interrupted by the Turks.”

“Why does he have a grudge against Shinra?” Cid asked the commissioner. “Didn’t he use to work for ‘em?”

“I’m not sure,” Reeve replied. “I did a background check on Miles and it looked like he had an uneventful carrier on the SOLDIER floor. But the files were salvaged.”

“He was fired for allowing a pair of test subjects to escape,” Tifa explained as soon as Reeve finished talking.

Up until this point, Tifa was standing next in the back of the bridge. Both her and Cloud had been so quiet since boarding the airship, Cid and Reeve almost forgotten they were there.

“Rufus signed off on his dismissal, so he blamed him for ruining his life.” As Tifa talked, she had a vacant expression and was looking away from the group like she was talking to herself.

All eyes in the room were on Tifa with Cid and Reeve looking surprised as they wondered how she knew all this.

As if sensing their confusion, Tifa turned to them. “He talked about it when I was his prisoner,” she explained. 

 “So, is the plan still Edge or should we go Healen?” Cid asked the group.

Up until this point, Cloud had been standing at the back of the bridge leaning against the wall with his arms folded. His head was down as if he was resting his eyes, but he was just thinking while half-listening to the conversation around him. Hearing Cid’s question, he looked up at the group.

“Drop us off in Healen,” Cloud ordered the pilot, speaking for himself and Tifa. 

“After you drop them off, we’ll go to Edge and search for the remaining explosive device,” Reeve informed the captain.

It didn’t take long for Cid to reach Healen. Tifa and Cloud disembarked leaving Cid and Reeve to continue to Edge. When they entered the town, it looked as if the top floor of the hospital had caught on fire and multiple homes were damaged.

Cloud and Tifa went straight towards the mayor’s office assuming that is where they would find the Turks and Rufus.

When they entered the building, they found Rude sitting at his desk with his feet up on the table and Reno lying on a couch across from him. The two quickly sat up straight as soon as they notice someone enter the room.

“Where is he?” Cloud asked upon entering the room with Tifa.

Knowing who they were referring to, Reno and Rude got up from their seats and led them down into the basement. The basement was large and sectioned off with a broiler room, storage area, and multiple other rooms Cloud and Tifa had no idea what they were used for. The Turks took them down a hallway and stopped at a heavy metal door with a small glass window and a food slot.

“Is this a prison cell?” Tifa asked the Turk.

“Sort of,” Reno answered. “This is the first time we’ve had to use ‘em.”

“We are the police around here,” Rude explained.

“Oh please,” a female’s voice said from down the hall.

They all turned around to see Elena standing a few feet away with her arms folded.

“The only thing in this town that needs policing are Reno and Rude after a night out at the pub,” Elena said as she walked towards them and stopped by the door.

 “But still,” Reno explained to Elena. “Aren’t you glad we put these in?” He motioned towards the steel cell door. “Abduction, interrogation, it’s just like old times,” he reminisced with a smile as he leaned against the wall.

Cloud and Tifa looked through the cell window to see an empty room with a basic metal cot. Miles was lying on the cot with his eyes closed as if he was sleeping. He had a big black and purple swollen eye with traces of blood around his noise and shirt.

“What happened to him?” Cloud asked.

“Interrogation,” Reno responded nonchalantly. “We let Elena have a few minutes with him.”

Cloud and Tifa looked at Elena a little surprised and curious as to what drove the nice petite woman to be so aggressive.

Sensing that they were looking for a rationale, Elena decided to provide one. “He pissed me off,” she answered with a shrug.

“They blew a hole through her and Tseng’s new house,” Reno explained.

Elena shot the redhead a dirty look for providing too much personal information. “Anyways,” she said, changing the subject. “He’ll probably be unconscious for another few hours at least.”

Elena looked at Tifa and could sense that she was tired from a long day. “The boss reserved you a room at the inn if you want to get some rest,” she suggested. “We have a camera on him, so we can let you know as soon as he awakens.”

It was already late so there was a good chance Miles would not be awake until morning.

“Thank you,” Tifa said to the female Turk.

Tifa looked at Cloud who knew what she was thinking and nodded in agreement. They walked towards the stairs with the three Turks following behind.

“Is the boss back yet?” Reno asked Elena as they walked upstairs.

“No, he is still assisting with the hospital repairs,” she explained to the redhead. “With the intensive care ward destroyed, they had to move dozens of patients and now it’s over capacity, he wants it repaired as soon as possible.” She paused for a second then remembered something. “That reminds me, he wants you and Rude to head over and assist while I watch the prisoner.”

When they all reached the main floor, everyone but Elena exited the Mayor’s office. Reno and Rude walked towards the hospital while Cloud and Tifa went towards the Inn.

Tifa was looking forward to sleeping in a real bed with Cloud. When they entered the Inn, the innkeeper directed them to their room. It was a standard Inn room with a closet, dresser, mirror, and a queen size bed in the middle of the room. The two walked in and Cloud closed the door behind them.

As Cloud turned away from the door, Tifa was standing near the bed. He walked across the room and embraced her. They had not had any time alone since the night Tifa was captured.

“I’m sorry,” Cloud said softly. 

Tifa stopped the embrace and looked up at him. “Sorry for what?” she asked, puzzled.

“It’s because of me all this happened to you,” he explained.

He looked into her brown mako-infused eyes. Her glowing eyes were something that was going to take time to get accustomed to. Right now, they were a reminder of all the torment she had to endure because of him.

“You couldn’t have foreseen any of this,” Tifa tried to comfort him. .

“How are you feeling?” Cloud asked. He wanted to ask her about what happened but didn’t want to bring it up if she wasn’t ready to talk about it.

Tifa yawned. “I’m a little tired,” she replied, changing the subject.

Taking the hint, Cloud and Tifa finished their embrace and they proceed to get ready for bed. They each walked over to opposite sides of the bed and started to undress. Cloud couldn’t help but look at Tifa as she was removing her clothes. He could see she had multiple cuts on her upper body, and he noticed small bruises on her arms, chest, and midsection. He wondered if the bruises were from fighting or from Miles.

Looking at the bruises on her midsection, he then noticed that her baby bump was starting to show. Looking at her stomach he wondered how far along she was. That’s when the truth really hit him; he was going to be a father. He had known this for over a week now but seeing Tifa’s belly made it more real.

Tifa glanced over to see Cloud staring at her. She looked down to see all the bruises on her body and immediately turned away.

Seeing Tifa turn away, Cloud snapped out of his gaze. It was not like her to turn away from him like that, he assumed it was embarrassment from the wounds on her body.

Wearing just her bra and underwear, Tifa pulled back the bedsheets and laid down. Cloud did the same wearing just his boxers. As soon as they entered the bed, Cloud pulled Tifa close and held her tight for the rest of the night.


	15. Chapter 15

It was early the next morning when the sound of the Inn phone bellowed through the room, awaking Cloud and Tifa. It was Elena calling to inform them that Miles had finally gained consciousness. The two quickly dressed and decided to go directly to Rufus' office to see the prisoner.

Truthfully, Cloud and Tifa weren't even sure what they hoped to accomplish by speaking with the scientist, but they felt the need to confront him. When they reached the office, they were greeted by Reno and Rude who had just relieved Elena from the night watch.

Reno took Cloud and Tifa down to Miles' cell and unlocked the door to let them in.

"Just knock when you want out," Reno informed the two as they walked into the room, locking the door behind them.

As they entered the room, Miles was sitting on the cot with his back against the wall. His injuries appeared a lot worse today compared to yesterday. From his right eyebrow to the bridge of his nose was swollen and now a deep back and blue bruise covered a large portion of his face. It was apparent he needed a cure materia, but Cloud and Tifa would be the last two people to help him out.

Miles smiled upon seeing Tifa.

Seeing Miles' smirk angered Cloud. He couldn't help but wonder what Miles was smiling over; his plans were ruined, he was being held prisoner, and for all he knew they were there to kill him.

"What are you smiling about?" Tifa asked abruptly.

"It feels good to see that you are doing so well," he informed Tifa sincerely. "Very few people would be strong enough to survive the procedure."

"I'm am not your experiment!" Tifa said furiously.

Noticing her anger, Miles stopped smiling and looked at her a little disappointed. "Why are you so angry?" he asked. "You should be grateful for what I've done. Now you are strong enough to survive your condition." He gestured his hand towards Tifa's midsection.

"What are you talking about?" Cloud asked.

Miles looked at Tifa with a serious expression.

"I must admit when I first abducted you, I was only focused on revenge," Miles admitted. "But after contemplating your condition I couldn't help but think about all the untapped potential. I realized that you needed my help for you and your child to have the best chance of survival." Miles paused looking from Cloud to Tifa who was still scowling at him. "Unfortunately, many of the subjects in both Project S and Project G did not fare so well when it came to the mothers and the birth of their offspring. Lucrecia barely survived the birth of her son, Sephiroth, who was injected with Jenova cell in the womb. The procedure produced an amazing specimen, but Lucrecia had to be pumped full of Jenova cell just to survive, and she still withered away; a shell of the woman she once was, kept alive by Jenova cells and grief. Gillian fared a little better; being injected with Jenova cells herself, but she passed the alien DNA on to her son who later died of degradation because he did not receive the cells directly."

Miles looked up at Tifa with a sincere expression. "After what Cloud told me about your condition, and I studied the blood sample he provided, I realized he likely passed his Jenova DNA on to your child like Gillian did to Angeal. But since you did not possess any Jenova cells yourself, you risk suffering the same fate as Lucrecia. I had to do something, if not, you and your child would risk suffering the same fate as them. Your best chance for success is to recreate the procedure that both Gillian and Sephiroth were subjected to. So, not only did I inject you and your unborn child with Jenova cells, I also subjected you to the same process Shinra used to make SOLIDERs. It's because of me you are stronger than any SOLIDER and strong enough to survive the birth of your child."

Cloud could tell Miles' explanation was angering Tifa. Although he was mad with Miles for what he did to Tifa, what Miles said did make sense. Tifa meant more to him than anything and if there was a chance their child's birth would cause Tifa's death, he would not think twice. But he knew Tifa would not think the same way. She was such a selfless person he knew she would risk her life for her child if it came down to it.

"Don't you see how I helped you?" Miles asked Tifa genuinely. "You should be thanking me."

"THANK YOU?!" Tifa screamed at Miles so loud he flinched. Tifa's fury was taking over and she lunged at him when she suddenly stopped in pain. 

Sensing something was wrong, Cloud reached out to help Tifa keep steady on her feet. She looked pale and her hands were cold and clammy. "Maybe we should go until you calm down," Cloud suggested.

Tifa nodded in agreement, unable to speak. Assisting Tifa towards the door, Cloud knocked, and it was immediately opened by Reno who looked at him awkwardly. It was obvious he overheard everything from his position outside the door.

"You should probably go to the hospital," Reno suggested, looking a little worried.

Taking the redhead's advice, the two made their way to the hospital. Tifa insisted that she just needed a few minutes to calm down, but Cloud didn't want to take any chances. He helped Tifa across town towards the Hospital. There was nobody in the waiting room when they entered the emergency reception area.

Cloud sat Tifa down in a chair while he went over to talk to the lady behind the desk. Less than five minutes after registering, a nurse came to take Tifa to triage.

Cloud stayed behind in the waiting room. About twenty minutes later the nurse came out to retrieve him. He followed her into the emergency room area which was a big opened room surrounded by individual rooms. There was a busy area with a desk in the middle which he assumed was the nurse's station. Towards the back of the room, there was another set of double doors leading to the rest of the hospital.

The nurse took Cloud to one of the first rooms to the right. When they entered, Tifa was lying on a bed hooked up to an IV.

"Are you okay?" Cloud asked.

Tifa smiled faintly to let Cloud know she was fine. "They think it was dehydration," she assured him.

This was the first time Cloud seen Tifa smile since he found her. She was normally the cheerful, smiling, positive member of the group, it hurt him to see her like this. Although he completely understood the way she was feeling, he would do anything to bring his smiling happy Tifa back.

Suddenly, a tall woman with red hair in a ponytail walked into the room holding a medial chart. She was wearing a lab coat and had one blue eye. Her other eye looked a little different and was more of a pale blue color. She was wearing glasses and had one biomechanical arm.

"Not only is she dehydrated, her blood pressure is severely elevated," the woman told the two. She looked up at the medical chart to face Cloud and Tifa. "Considering your condition, you should be taking better care of yourself."

"How is the baby?" Tifa asked.

"The heartrate is within normal range," the woman informed them. "Your baby is healthy." The woman took a few steps towards the bed. "We are going to keep you under twenty-four-hour observation and ensure you get some fluids into you." She walked over towards the IV and checked the bag of fluid. 

"S. Rui," Tifa read the woman’s nametag out loud, recognizing the last name. "Are you Shelke's sister?"

Shalua turned her attention from the IV bag to Tifa and nodded. "How do you know my sister?" she asked.

"She has been staying with us in Edge," Tifa replied.

Shalua smiled as the realization hit her. "So, you must be Tifa and Cloud," she said looking from Cloud to Tifa. "She has told me a lot about you two."

"I thought you worked for the WRO?" Cloud asked. He had never met her face to face, but he knew who she was and that she worked for Reeve a few years ago.

"I don't know if Shelke informed you," Shalua started to explain. "I was trapped and lost in the Midgar ruins for some time. I thought I was going to die but the Turks found my capsule and brought me to this hospital. I liked what they were doing, so once I was healthy enough, I decided to volunteer my services."

It was ironic that after spending ten years of her life fighting Shinra, she was rescued by the Turks and now worked in Rufus Shinra's hospital. Once she found her sister, Shalua did not feel the need to return to work for the WRO and felt her skills could be of more useful helping the sick.

"Did you hear about what happened to your sister?" Tifa asked the woman.

Shalua nodded. "Reeve informed me about it two days ago," she explained. I was scheduled for a ride to Junon yesterday but then the hospital was attacked. I decided to postpone my visit to help the injured since Shelke is reportedly doing okay. My ride leaves this afternoon." Shalua paused and frowned. "I am a little upset with Reeve for not telling me about her abduction until after she was rescued."

"Well, when you see Shelke tell her we hope she makes a speedy recovery,” Tifa said, changing the subject. 

Shalua smiled and nodded. "I must do one last round before I go," she explained then looked at Tifa. "You take it easy and start taking better care of yourself," she added sternly.

Tifa nodded, a little embarrassed. "Thank you."

"Make sure she stays away from stress," Shalua warned Cloud. "Nice meeting both of you," she said before exiting the room.

Cloud walked over and sat in the chair next to Tifa.

"I guess I'm stuck here for twenty-four hours," Tifa commented, sounding a little annoyed. 

Sensing Tifa's frustration, Cloud tried to take her mind off it.

"Are you hungry?" he asked. "I can get you something to eat in the cafeteria."

"I'm a little hungry," she replied sheepishly.

Cloud left Tifa to go find some food in the cafeteria. Walking through the hospital, Cloud was impressed. All the staff seemed happy and the place appeared to run like a well-oiled machine. Cloud could tell the staff were hard at work with most of the rooms being full, but it didn't feel chaotic like you would expect from a busy hospital.

Cloud found his way to the cafeteria on the first floor. It was a little crowed because it was nearing lunchtime. He walked over to the counter to order some food for Tifa when he spotted Rufus pouring himself a coffee at the beverage area. Seeing Cloud, Rufus approached.

"What brings you here?" Rufus asked.

"Tifa's not feeling well," Cloud answered, not wanting to go into detail. Although knowing how much of a gossip Reno was, Cloud figured everyone will probably know soon enough.

"Is she okay?" Rufus asked.

Cloud nodded before changing the subject. "I was wondering, what you going to do with your hostage?" he asked the mayor.

Rufus stopped to think about it for a second. "I don't have any plans for him myself," he explained. "I heard he gave you a hard time, you can have him if you want. If not, I will turn him over to the WRO so he can be dealt with appropriately."

Cloud thought about Rufus' offer but turned it down. Although part of him would like to see Miles suffer greatly for what he did to Tifa, he was never one to maim or torture out of revenge. By turning Miles over to the WRO, he would be arrested and tried for his actions.

"If you change your mind, or you want another shot at him," Rufus offered. "You have until tomorrow morning before the WRO will be here to retrieve him." Rufus looked at his watch while holding a cup of coffee in his hand. "Now, if you excuse me." With that, Rufus excited the cafeteria.

It always amazed Cloud how much Rufus had changed since meteor and the fall of Shinra. To this day, Cloud had a hard time trusting him, even when they were both infected by geo-stigma Rufus lied to him about having Jenova's head in his possession. At the same time, Cloud had to admit that actions speak louder than words, and Rufus had been demonstrating that he was a changed man. Cloud could sense Rufus' evil streak was still within him, but he was starting to believe that Rufus could use it for good.

After his conversation with the mayor, Cloud made his way over to the counter to order some food for himself and Tifa. Cloud ordered her a sandwich and salad while he just ordered himself a sandwich. Cloud didn't know how hungry Tifa was, so he figured it was best to get her more.

When Clod brought Tifa the food she thanked him and dove in. Cloud would never say it, but he could tell she was starving by how fast she ate. He had never seen her eat like that before, even when they were travelling the world and would go days without eating.

Cloud finished half his sandwich and stopped to look at Tifa. He couldn't help but smile at her. He thought she looked so adorable devouring her food. As she was finishing her meal, she started to slow down a little. He let her enjoy her food and didn't say a word until after she was finished eating.

"I ran into Rufus in the cafeteria," Cloud explained. "He is going to hand Miles over to the WRO tomorrow."

Tifa pushed her empty food tray off to the side and paused for a few second. "I guess that's for the best," she said coldly. She turned away from Cloud, appearing disappointed with the news. 

Seeing Tifa lost in thought and looking worried, Cloud decided to change the subject. "I was thinking, after you're discharged tomorrow, we could go home," he suggested.

He assumed that given everything that has happened, the reactor demolition mission was put on hold. They only had the Mt. Nibel reactor left and it could wait, despite it being the reactor Cloud and Tifa wanted destroyed the most. All he cared about right now was making sure Tifa rested like the doctor suggested.

"That sounds like a good idea," Tifa said half-heartedly with a forced smile. Stretching a little in her bed, Tifa turned to Cloud. "I'm kind of tired," she informed him. "If you want to go get some fresh air or something," she suggested. "It's not like I'm going anywhere." She smiled sheepishly and lifted her arm with the IV in it. 

Taking the hint, Cloud nodded and stood up from his chair. He leaned over and kissed Tifa on the forehead. "I won't be far," he said before exiting the room.

Cloud left the hospital to go get some fresh air while Tifa rested. It was a little after noon and some of the town's people were still repairing the three houses that were damaged in the attack. Having nothing to do, Cloud decided to give them a hand.

After helping an elderly couple put up some siding, Cloud noticed Tseng and Elena repairing a broken window on another house. Their house was hardest hit with extensive damage to the roof, side, and foundation.

Cloud went over to help them board up a hole on the side of the house protecting it from the elements until someone could come fix it properly. All the contractors were busy repairing the hospital and it would take a few days until they could tackle the residential repairs.

Having assisted with the build of Edge, Cloud knew enough to help Tseng repair and shingle the roof while Elena passed up the tools and shingles. It was almost dark by the time they were finished with the roof. As soon as they were done, Tseng thanked him and hurried off to the mayor's office leaving Elena and Cloud.

"I'm meeting the guys for dinner and some drinks if you want to join us, my treat." Elena offered Cloud. "It's the least I can do."

"Thanks, but I should go check in on Tifa," Cloud responded.

"Well, if you change your mind, we'll be at the pub."

Cloud walked back to the hospital while Elena made her way to the pub. When he reached the hospital, he went directly to Tifa's room and was surprised to see she was still sleeping. Cloud was standing by the doorway when her nurse walked by.

"You just missed her," the nurse said, stopping to talk to Cloud.

"Missed her?" Cloud asked, puzzled.

"Yes, she just dozed off after eating her dinner," the nurse explained. "Poor thing must have been tired."

"Did she sleep at all today?"

"I don't think so," the nurse replied. "She was up every time I went in to check on her." With that said, the nurse went to go check on her other patients.

Cloud was a little hurt Tifa lied to him and said she wanted to get some rest. At the same time, he figured she could have had a good reason to lie; maybe she felt bad for cooping him up in a hospital with her, or maybe she wanted some time to herself.

Cloud was starting to get a little hungry, so he made his way back to the pub to join Elena and the others for dinner. He walked out of the hospital making his way down a series of staircases and across a small bridge towards a large ledge along the cliffside that contained the pub, general store and a few other shops.

When he entered the establishment, it was busy with all the tables and the bar full of people eating and drinking. There were two families with children eating but almost everyone else were adults enjoying themselves. He scanned the room and spotted Elena, Rude, and Reno sitting in a booth located in the back corner.

Reno spotted Cloud and waived at him. Cloud made his way over and sat in the open seat next to Reno.

"Right on time," Reno told the blond. "We haven't ordered any food yet."

"So how is Tifa doing?" Elena asked.

"Good, she just needed some rest," Cloud replied before looking through the menu.

A few minutes later the waitress came and took their food orders along with Cloud's drink order.

"You want another one, hun?" she asked Reno, noticing his rum and soda was almost finished.

Reno looked up and smiled. "You should know the answer to that question," he said jokingly and took the last sip of his drink before handing her the empty glass.  
The waitress took the glass and walked away.

"Remember Reno, you have to relieve Tsang first thing tomorrow morning," Elena warned.

"Ah, that's fine." Reno waived his hand. "They should be here early to get him, so it's not like I have a long shift." Reno let out a sigh. "I'll be happy once he's gone, those scientists give me the creeps."

The waitress brought Cloud and Reno their drinks.

"Thanks Becky," Reno smiled at the server before taking a sip of his fresh drink.

"What do you think they are going to do with him?" Rude asked.

"Probably put him on trial," Elena responded. "A lot of people are going to want to see him pay for his role in the attacks."

"I hope they interrogate him first," Reno said, leaning back in his seat. "Force him to spill the beans on Deepground."

"What makes you think he even knows anything?" Elena asked.

"Common," Reno scoffed. "He was working with Genesis himself. The one person the Tsviets were founded on plus they have Weiss, he must know something."

Up to this point Cloud was just quietly listening but after hearing Reno, he had to speak up. "What are you talking about?" he asked. "I thought Deepground was destroyed."

Elena spoke up before Reno had a chance to answer. "It's just one of Reno's crazy theories—"

"A theory based on evidence," Reno interrupted the female Turk.

"What evidence?" Cloud asked the redhead.

Reno leaned forward on the table, almost like he was about to whisper Cloud a secret. "Well, Rufus has been sending us into the Midgar ruins for years now looking for anything important, ya know, like useful Shinra technology, documents, hard drives, and so on. After the Omega incident last year, he ordered us to locate any documents or information involving Deepground. If we find something, we give it to Rufus so him and Tsang can review and destroy it." Reno paused to take a sip of his drink before continuing. "Well, I've been reading some of these documents and it turns out Deepground was a hell-of-a-lot bigger than anyone anticipated. They weren't just confined to a structure under the Shinra building. They owned more properties than Hojo had secret laboratories, which is a lot, by the way. I think if we dig deep enough, we can link them to every department in Shinra." Reno leaned back in his seat while taking a sip of his drink.

"If that's true, and Deepground occupied all corners of the planet," Elena exaggerated, "then why did they only appear after they were freed from under the Shinra building?"

Reno paused to think. "I don't know..." he shrugged it off. "I don't have all the answers."

Elena rolled her eyes and looked at Cloud. "That's why it's just a theory," she reassured him, crossing her arms and leaning back. "Apart from Genesis and Weiss, there has been no evidence of Deepground activity since we defeated their army."

"And that's another thing," Reno added. "Their army was huge, what's not to say some escaped or survived."

"You are such as conspiracy theorist Reno," Elena said rolling her eyes.

A few minutes later, Becky approached their table carrying four plates of food. "Here ya' go," she told the two male Turks while handing them their burger and fries.

Elena ordered a burger and salad while Cloud also ordered a burger and fries. After she handed them their food, they thank her before she grabbed Rude and Elena's empty glasses for refills. The four ate their food silence while until Reno stopped eating to talk.

"So, what happened to the two Jenova rejects anyways?" Reno asked Cloud. "Last I heard Genesis was shot or something?"

"Yes, Vincent is trailing him and Weiss," Cloud informed the redhead before taking another bite of his burger.

Cloud was not surprised the Turks already knew about what happened to Genesis. When it came to information, they were worse than gossipy school girls.

"Genesis didn't die?" Elena asked.

"I don't know," Cloud answered. "His injuries were severe enough to be fatal."

"Well, remind me to thank the one who put him out of commission," Reno said after finishing up his food and taking a sip of his drink. "Who shot him? Vincent?"

Cloud shook his head. "Tifa," he told them.

A little grin appeared on Rude and Elena's faces while Reno looked a surprised. All the Turks knew Tifa was a force to be reckoned with, but they never pictured her as the type of person to shoot someone in cold blood.

"Good for her," Reno commented. "I wanted to do the same to that little twerp, but the boss said no," Reno added, referring to Miles.

"Accidents happen all the time," Rude said with a smirk before taking a sip of his scotch.

Reno smiled at his partner's joke before taking a sip of his drink. By now they were all finished eating and Becky came to take their plates and refill their drinks except Cloud who refused the refill offer.

Suddenly, a beeping sound could be heard coming simultaneously from the Turk's pockets. They all quickly pull out their phones and opened them.

"You gotta come see this," Reno informed Cloud after reading the text.

The three Turk threw some gil down before everyone at the table stood up and rushed out of the pub.

The four walked across the main bridge towards the Mayor's office and were greeted by Tseng and Rufus standing by the front staircase. Rufus was holding a shotgun and instantly Cloud knew something happened with Miles.

"How did it happen?" Elena asked her two superiors.

Without saying a word, they took the group around the structure and stopped at a big hole blown right through the side of the building.

"Who did this?" Reno asked.

It was dark, but the hole was in the shape of a perfect circle and there were no building fragments anywhere to be seen. It was obvious this was not caused by explosives.

"Not sure," Tseng informed the redhead. "I was reviewing files and suddenly the security camera was deactivated. When I went down to check on the prisoner, this hole was blown threw the basement wall and his cell door was ripped off the hinges. There was no blast or tremor. I searched the immediate area but nothing."

"What could have caused this?" Cloud asked.

"Oh, there is technology out there that can do this," Reno added putting his hand on the edge of the hole, inspecting the damage.

"Unfortunately, my team has not been able to secure all the old salvageable and functional Shinra technology hidden in the Midgar ruins," Rufus informed Cloud.

"Should we go search for him boss?" Reno asked.

"No, he'll be long gone by now," Rufus answered.

Although he knew this was not anyone's fault, Cloud was not happy. He was also not looking forward to breaking the news to Tifa when she woke up tomorrow. Realizing there was nothing more he could do about this, he decided to say goodnight to the group and head back to the hospital.

*****

After Cloud left, Rufus and comrades stuck around for a few minutes inspecting the scene. They were just starting to walk back when Rufus heard something and paused.

Realizing Rufus was not walking with them, the Turks stopped and looked back.

Suddenly, Rufus raised his shotgun and pointed it into the darkness. A second later, they could make out the shadow of something or someone moving towards them. Rufus cocked his gun as a warning.

"Don't shoot!" Elena told her boss, prompting him to lower his gun. Elena was the first to realize that the approaching creature was Vincent in his chaos form.

As he neared the group, Vincent changed back into his regular self.

"Hey, Vincent," Reno greeted the ex-Turk. "What brings you here?"

"Does this mean Genesis and Weiss are nearby?" Elena asked before Vincent could answer Reno.

"Just one of them," Vincent responded.

Vincent then informed his fellow Turks that after Genesis was injured, he followed the WRO shuttle Weiss hijacked as far a Nibelheim where Weiss put Genesis in a mako chamber in the Shinra manor basement. Vincent then tracked Weiss as far as Edge, but he must have figured out the ex-Turk was following them because he vanished in the city this afternoon. Vincent then met up with Reeve to advise him of the situation. Reeve sent a crew to go retrieve Genesis in Nibelheim and he informed Vincent that they had Miles prisoner in Healen. Vincent figured this was a good place to search for Weiss.

"Well, you just missed Miles," Reno informed Vincent, pointing at the huge cavity in the side of the building.

"How long ago did this happen?" Vincent asked.

"Less than thirty minutes ago," Tseng replied.

With that news, Vincent transformed back into Chaos to go look for any sign of Weiss or Miles. 

"Call if you have any news of their whereabouts," Rufus asked the ex-Turk.

Vincent nodded in agreement and took off into the night's sky.

"Wish I could fly like that," Reno remarked looking up at Vincent as he flew away.

"Then we might still have all our helicopters," Elena teased.

Reno shot her a dirty look and they all turned to go back to the office.


	16. Chapter 16

It was early morning when Tifa awoke in the hospital bed. She looked over to see Cloud sleeping in the chair next to her. He opened his eyes as soon as Tifa started to move around in the bed.

"Good morning," Tifa said with a smile.

"Morning," Cloud replied, sitting up straight in his chair. "How are you feeling?"

"Better," Tifa replied truthfully. "I guess I just needed some rest. Sorry I slept all day yesterday, I hope you weren't too bored."

"I was able to keep busy," Cloud informed her. He didn't want to tell her about Mile's escape just yet.

Shortly after, a nurse entered the room and checked Tifa's blood pressure.

"Everything looks good," the nurse explained after writing some notes in Tifa's chart. "The doctor will write up your discharge papers as soon as he makes his rounds."

"Thank you," Tifa said to the nurse.

It was not long before Tifa was free to go. When they left the hospital Tifa asked when Reeve was sending someone to pick up Miles. Cloud had no other choice but to inform her of Mile's escape and they had to decide on their next step. Tifa looked a little upset with the news but otherwise took it better than Cloud anticipated. Maybe she was listening to the doctor's orders to avoid stress.

"We should go see if Reeve is still in Edge," Cloud suggested. "Maybe he has some new information."

Tifa agreed and they made their way towards the town's exit. They were walking across the main bridge when they saw Reno and Tseng standing outside the mayor's office. Reno waved them over when he spotted them walking by.

"You two headin' out?" Reno asked them.

Tifa nodded. "We're going to see if Reeve is still in Edge," she informed the redhead.

"He's there," Reno answered. "He just called to tell us the peacekeepers arrived with Genesis' body this morning."

"They have Genesis? What about Weiss?" Tifa asked.

"No, Weiss abandoned Genesis in Nibelheim," Reno explained. "Reeve sent a team there to go get him. The director was about to go there if you want a ride."

Cloud and Tifa accepted the ride from the Turk leader. They followed him outside town to the waiting helicopter. It did not take long for them to arrive at the airfield. As they exited the aircraft and walked towards the town, they were surprised to see all the damage the Edge suffered.

Parts of the city were still in ruins when they arrived, and the town was undergoing extensive reconstruction. The headquarters itself was the hardest hit and still had some rubble surrounding it.

Tifa decided to go to 7th Heaven to check on Denzel and Marlene while Cloud and Tseng went to the WRO headquarters to talk to Reeve. When Cloud and Tseng entered the building, they went through security and Cloud followed Tseng towards the elevator. They located Reeve in a workshop talking with a WRO technician next to a mako chamber holding Genesis. They turned away from their conversation when the two entered the room.

Reeve smiled. "Good, you brought Cloud with you," he told Tseng.

Cloud walked up to Genesis who was floating in the mako chamber. His body looked lifeless with his head slumped over and his eyes closed.

"Is he alive?" Cloud asked.

"Not sure," Reeve informed him. "I've arranged for a medical examination of the body, so we'll know more this afternoon. Have either of you seen Vincent?"

"Not since last night," Tseng replied. "He went searching for Miles after the escape."

Cloud was surprised to hear Vincent was in Healen last night. He assumed Vincent must have met up with the Turks after he returned to the hospital.

"I've been trying to call him all morning, but his phone is off," Reeve updated the two. "I have a team posted in Nibelhiem. If Miles or Weiss returns, we'll know about it."

"What do you plan to do with him?" Cloud asked, turning away from the mako chamber to address the commissioner.

"If he's alive, we'll assess and treat his injuries," Reeve informed Cloud. "We're hoping Miles or Weiss will come looking for him." He stopped and turned towards Tseng. "Our medical team will need some information from you about Genesis."

Tseng walked over towards Cloud and inspected Genesis. "What do they want to know?" he asked Reeve as he was gazed at the unconscious man inside the glass pod.

Reeve walked up towards the Turk. "I think they just want to know if you have any information regarding his medical history and—"

Reeve paused when he noticed the expression change on Tseng's face. "Is something wrong?"

"This isn't Genesis," Tseng said before turning to face Reeve and Cloud.

"How can you tell?" Cloud asked. It looked exactly like the man he fought in the Mako Excavation Facility and Junon. He even had the cut on his face that Cloud gave him when they were fighting days earlier. If Tseng was right, then the man he was fighting this whole time was not the real Genesis.

Tseng turned back towards the fake Genesis and pointed at his hair. "This man is showing signs of degradation," he explained. "The real Genesis was cured of degradation years ago."

"So, this Genesis was a copy all along?" Cloud asked.

"It appears so," Tseng answered.

"I wonder if Weiss knew he was not the real Genesis," Reeve wondered. This could explain why Weiss had not yet returned to Nibelhiem. "It seems like we are back to square one, and we have no idea where they are or what they have planned."

"If they even have a plan," Cloud added. Cloud did not think they were able to plan this far ahead. So far, Cloud and his friends had put a stop to their plan to blow up the WRO buildings and they successfully rescued Tifa and Shelke. Plus, Cloud did not think Miles and Genesis would have been able to anticipate Tifa shooting the fake Genesis. But he did wonder where real Genesis was if they were fighting a copy this whole time.

"We don't even know what is motivating Genesis," Reeve mentioned. "Does he have a grudge against Shinra like Miles? I don't even know what connects him to Deepground." Reeve looked towards Tseng wondering if he had any answers.

"Many SOLDIERs have a connection to Deepground in some way," Tseng explained. "It used to be a medical facility for injured SOLDIERs. They would be sent there for care and rehabilitation, but overtime, it went underground and some of the SOLDIERs that were sent there never returned to regular duty. They would experiment on themselves; some using Genesis cells. Although all this was financed by the late President Shinra, I do not think Genesis has the same hatred towards Shinra as Miles."

"Maybe Genesis was just using Miles to help him revive Weiss," Cloud suggested.

"And Miles needed Genesis' copies to help him retrieve the huge materia," Reeve added. They were never able to recover any huge materia, so they wondered if Miles still had plans for it.

Cloud was starting to get frustrated, they had more questions than answers. He knew they could stand there and theorize all day, but it was not getting them any closer to finding Genesis, Weiss, or Miles. He decided to go check in on Tifa and the children. He was curious to see if their home was one of the many damaged from the attack anyways.

"I am going home to check in," he informed Reeve and Tseng. "Let me know if you hear anything."

Cloud exited the WRO headquarters and walked a few blocks towards 7th Heaven. Cloud was relieved to see their neighborhood was not as damaged as other areas. There were a few buildings with some minor damage nearby, but the 7th Heaven was unscathed.

When Cloud entered his home, he was greeted by Marlene and Denzel, both happy to see him. He wondered if Tifa told them they might not be staying for long. He felt bad for leaving and then return only to depart again.

"Cloud!" Marlene yelled, giving him a big hug when he entered. "How was your trip?" she asked him.

"Good," he lied to her. "I am glad to see you two are okay."

"Nanaki has been taking care of us," she informed him. "Tifa told us that Yuffie and Shelke are okay. We were worried. They went out to help when the city was attacked and never came back. We looked everywhere for them. Have you heard from papa?" Marlene was so excited she was going a mile a minute.

"He went to Corel to help the citizens," Cloud explained. "I'm sure he will be back as soon as possible."

"Do you know who was behind the attacks?" Denzel asked Cloud.

"Yes, but they are still on the loose," Cloud informed Denzel. He wasn't going to lie to them but did not want to go into details. "Where's Tifa and Nanaki?"

"In the kitchen," the two children said simultaneously.

Cloud proceeded into the kitchen with the two children following. Tifa was doing dishes and having a discussion with Red XIII who was sitting on the floor nearby. They both stopped talking when Cloud and the children entered the room.

"How was your meeting with Reeve?" Tifa asked.

"Not as promising as we hoped," Cloud informed her without elaborating in front of the children.

Upon hearing this, a worried look appeared on Tifa's face. They wanted to discuss this further, but they needed to wait until the Marlene and Danzel were gone. Tifa finished washing the dishes and Cloud proceeded to dry them while she started making lunch. The two children started to set the table.

Sensing something was wrong, Nanakin changed the subject. "Did Denzel and Marlene tell you they helped out after the attack on Edge?" he asked them.

Tifa smiled. "No, how did you help out?" she asked the children.

Marlene stopped setting the table to look at Tifa. "We brought water and bandages to injured people until helped arrived and Denzel helped with some of the rebuilding." Marlene was excited to be telling Tifa about their good deeds.

"I only helped unload some materials, I didn't build anything," Denzel said, being modest. He was never one to brag.

"That's great! I'm so proud of you two for helping." After praising the children, Tifa went back to preparing the food.

It didn't take long for everyone to eat the lunch Tifa made. After they finished eating, the two children left the house to go see if anyone in the city needed any help with the rebuilding. Cloud, Tifa, and Nanakin stayed in the kitchen to talk about Cloud's meeting with Reeve.

Cloud informed Tifa that the Genesis she shot was really a Genesis copy. Tifa appeared more upset with the idea that Genesis, Miles, and Weiss were roaming free and they had no idea where they were.

Nanakin appeared surprised to hear about Tifa's actions as they proceeded to update him on everything that had happened. Although they did omit a lot of the personal information and some details surrounding Tifa's time as their hostage. The feline was silent after listening to Cloud and Tifa’s update.

Shortly after their conversation, as if sensing their need for privacy, Nanakin excused himself to go take a nap in the other room leaving Cloud and Tifa sitting at the kitchen table alone.

"How are you feeling?" Cloud asked Tifa with a concerned expression.

"A lot better now that we're home," Tifa informed him, forcing a smile. "How are you feeling about all this?" she asked him in return.

"Not sure," Cloud told her truthfully. He had all kinds of thoughts running through his head right now. He was thankful Tifa and all their friends were okay, but at the same time, he felt defeated because the people who caused them so much suffering were still free and possibly plotting against them. Not to mention the worries that come with the uncertainty of being a father and not knowing how his unborn child will turn out considering everything it had been through before it was even born.

Tifa reached out and placed her hands over Cloud's hand as it rested on the table. It was like she knew what he was thinking and wanted to comfort him. They sat there together for a few minutes until the silence was broken by the sound of Cloud's phone ringing.

Cloud let go of Tifa's hand and reached into his pocket. "Hello," he said, answering his phone. Cloud was silent as he listened to the person on the other line. "Yes, we'll be there," he told them.

Cloud closed his phone and looked at Tifa. "It was Reeve," he explained. "He said Weiss was spotted near Nibelhiem. Cid will be at the airfield in an hour to pick us up."

Tifa nodded in agreement and left the room to go upstairs to take a quick shower and get a change of clothes, Cloud followed suit. After freshening up, they found Nanakin napping in the living room. They woke him up to let him know that they were leaving again. Then Tifa and Cloud left to go find the children.

They located Denzel and Marlene a few blocks over helping some of their friends with the cleanup. Tifa and Cloud were sorry to see that other families' homes were damaged by the attack, some of them were people they had known for years. Cloud and Tifa wanted to help but had other priorities. They told themselves if their neighbors were still repairing the damage when they returned, they would assist as much as possible. They advised Marlene and Denzel they were leaving and gave them each a big hug, promising to be back as soon as possible. Then they made their way across town to the airfield where the Shera was waiting for them.

When they boarded the ship, they were greeted by Cid and his crew. Cid told them that he just came from Corel and Barret was in the lounge getting some rest. He said Barret had been working non-stop helping with the Corel rebuild after they located the undetonated explosive device at the WRO office.

"Are we waiting for Reeve?" Cloud asked the captain.

"Nah, he said he needs to stay in Edge to work on some stuff," Cid explained. "Ready to go?"

Cloud and Tifa nodded and they all proceeded to the bridge to prepare for takeoff. Shortly after, Barret joined them on the bridge.

Cloud and Tifa filled them in on their time in Healen, omitting the part about Tifa being in the hospital. They knew telling them would cause more questions and they did not want to go into much detail. After the explanation, there was little talking amongst the small group as they quickly made their way towards Cloud and Tifa's hometown.

 

 


	17. Chapter 17

It did not take long for the group to reach Nibelhiem. Tifa, Cloud, Cid, and Barret departed the airship as soon as they landed outside the small town.

Cloud was relieved to see his bike exactly where he left it.

The abandoned town now housed a team of WRO soldiers who greeted the group as soon as they entered.

One of the WRO peacekeepers approached Cid. "Sir," he said as he saluted the captain. "At thirteen-hundred hours our snipers spotted two men matching the suspects' descriptions bypass the town by air. They were headed towards the base of the mountain. We did a quick sweep of the area but were unable to locate them. I informed the commissioner and he ordered us to fall back and wait for you."

"Thank you, Sargent," Cid said to the officer, then turned to address his comrades. "It sounds like they're headin' towards the reactor. The Shera can get us up, but she can't land. We'll have to jump and call for her when we're finished."

"Sounds good to me," Barret replied while the others nodded in agreement.

They all boarded the airship and took off towards the mountain. They flew low while scouting for anyone walking towards the reactor but didn't see anything out of the ordinary.

When they reached the reactor, they did one flyby to see if there was any activity outside. They were surprised to discover a Shinra helicopter parked in front of the reactor and could make out two people standing next to it. Even from a distance they knew exactly who it was from Reno's fiery red hair.

Seeing that the coast was clear, Cloud, Tifa, Barret, and Cid jumped from the airship as it hovered a few meters above ground.

When they touched ground, they could see that the two Turks were busy unloading small crates. Reno and Rude stopped what they were doing when the four landed.   
"What are you two doin' here?" Barret asked them.

"Vincent called us," Reno informed them.

Cid walked a few steps towards the cargo, examining it. "What's in the crates?" he asked. Whatever it was, the whole aircraft was full of it.

An evil grin appeared on Reno's face. "Our specialty," he said as he kicked the lid off the crate nearest to him, exposing red TNT sticks.

"Who authorized this?" Cid asked as he picked up a stick of dynamite.

Reno looked puzzled. "He didn't tell you? Right after we got the call from Vincent, Reeve called us and told us to blow the place up."

Cid looked back at Cloud and the others. "What do we do now?" he asked his friends.

"We sent Vincent a message telling him to shut off the power," Reno informed them. "We can't blow the place up until the reactor is shut off or it could spill mako like a running faucet. Since the power is still on, and Vincent is nowhere to be seen, either he didn't get the message, or he is still inside."

"You two keep setting up the explosives," Cid directed the Turks, then turned towards the others.

"Why don't we split up into groups?" Cid suggested to Cloud, Tifa, and Barret. "One will stay to help set up the explosives while three of us go in to look for Vincent and shut off the power."

"I want to go in," Tifa informed her friends.

"I'll go too," Cloud added.

"Why don't you help with the explosives," Cid suggested to Barret. "Since you got experience blowin' up reactors and all."

Barret reluctantly agreed.

Cid, Tifa, and Cloud made their way inside the reactor while Barret helped the Turks unload the rest of the crates.

When they entered, it was exactly how Cloud remembered it. They walked across the first catwalk and were just about to climb down the ladder leading to the chamber below when a loud rumble was heard and everything around them suddenly went dark.

"Well, I guess Vincent found the damn switch," Cid's voice commented in the darkness.

*****

Five minutes earlier...

Vincent was standing outside the main chamber of the Mt. Nibel reactor, quietly listening to the conversation inside. After he left Healen, it did not take him long to track down Weiss and Miles by air. He debated whether to confront the two or follow them. He chose the latter because he believed they had something planned and he wanted to find out what it was. Vincent had been feeling uneasy the last few days, there was something about the events leading up to Miles and Genesis' capture that didn't sit right with him. It all seemed too easy. Maybe that's why he was not surprised when Miles and Weiss bypassed Nibelhiem and made their way towards the mountain reactor where the real Genesis was waiting for them.

Despite Vincent's prediction, he was still surprised when he heard Genesis' voice inside the main chamber. Having all three of their adversaries in the same location, Vincent was grateful he called the Turks as he knew they were going to need all the help they could get.

Vincent was in the process of debating if he should move in closer when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He opened it to see a text message from Reno advising him of the plan.

"How fitting," Vincent thought to himself after reading the message. He then turned around and proceeded to go find the reactor's power source.

 


	18. Chapter 18

Miles and Weiss had just entered the reactor's main chamber.

Unaware that the Genesis he left in Nibelhiem was a copy, Weiss stopped in his tracks upon seeing the real Genesis standing on the staircase between the rows of pods.

"Brother?" Weiss asked, looking shocked.

Genesis shot Miles an irritated look, angry that he had kept Weiss in the dark.

"Oh, yes," Miles said, realizing what Genesis' dirty look was for. "I forgot to mention; that other Genesis was a copy, this is your real brother," he informed Weiss nonchalantly. "That's why we didn't stop in Nibelhiem."

As Miles talked, he was walking up the stairs towards the room at the top of the staircase marked Jenova. He opened the door and inside the room was a make-shift work station consisting of a table, chair, and a computer with multiple monitors that were all turned off. He looked around his station and frowned.

"What's the point of taking the time to set up the security cameras if you don't turn them on?" Miles asked Genesis, sounding annoyed.

"Relax, nobody knows I'm here," Genesis called out to Miles as he walked down the steps towards Weiss. "After the Turks showed up looking for Cloud, I have not seen anyone since. We were just lucky they didn't have time to inspect the place before they were called away. I had my doubts about your convoluted plan, but your distraction worked, and you revived Weiss like you said you would." Genesis put his hand on Weiss shoulder and smiled.

"Why do you sound so surprised?" Miles called out from the room sounding a little insulted. "If you haven't noticed, my plans usually work!"

"What plan?" Weiss asked Genesis, a little agitated that he was not trusted with the truth from the beginning. He was Weiss the Immaculate, not some pawn in their scheme.

"Don't worry," Genesis reassured, sensing Weiss' anger. "I told my copy to protect you at all costs. You will understand once you see what I have planned."

He motioned to the mako chambers in the room.

"More copies?" Weiss asked, not sounding impressed.

"Better," Genesis smiled. "It took a long time, but I was able to recover a few of our injured brothers and sisters that were sealed in chambers before the fall of Shinra. We've healed them using my DNA and concentrated mako. They will be as strong as you and me, perfect additions to our family."

Weiss smiled at the thought of Deepground still being alive. He considered the members of Deepground a far superior race and he hated seeing them reduced to just a hand full of followers.

"When will they be ready?" Weiss asked.

"They're ready now," Miles called out to them, still in the other room. He was leaning on the table working and half-listening to the conversation. "We've been treating them for last few months, but when I heard of the WRO's plan to destroy the reactors, we needed a distraction to buy us some time."

Weiss was happy with this plan, but he had many questions. He walked up to the first pod in the front row closest to him. He looked in to see a female with wavy dark hair and lightly bronzed skin. Weiss could make out a few faint scars on the side of her face and arms. She was wearing a SOLDIER 1st class armor and uniform but had the Deepground crest.

Weiss looked through the next pod to see a tall bulky man with dirty blond shoulder length hair. He looked to be in his late twenties or early thirties. He was wearing a Deepground body suit with no armor and had a long coat over his clothes.

The last occupied pod on the other side of the stairs had a young slender man with short spiky brown hair and was wearing the Deepground uniform and body armor.

All three of them were floating unconscious in the vat of liquid. He did not recognize any of them, but Deepground was a large organization made up of many different groups. The Tsviets being the smallest and most elite amongst them.

Since he was defeated during the Omega incident, Weiss had no idea how many of his fellow Deepground members survived. But Weiss heard the fake Genesis elude to Deepground being alive and well, Weiss assumed this was what he was referring to.

Weiss looked at Genesis. "Are you sure they will join us after all this time?" he asked.

The original Deepground was full of strong independent SOLDIERs. They had very little loyalty to any one person and would constantly attempt to overthrow the leaders; Weiss was especially guilty of this. It was so bad the Restrictors had to use implanted microchips in order to control him and the other Tsviets.

"We will control them the same way the Restrictors controlled you; with a microchip," Miles answered matter-of-factly. He was now standing at the top of the stairs looking down at them with his arms crossed.

Weiss laughed at the scientist. He hated humans and was not very fond of Miles. If it wasn't for the fact that Miles was helping them, Weiss would have killed the smug bastard by now.

"Like the chip you implanted in Cloud?" Weiss commented sarcastically. "That worked out well." If the chip could not work on a fake SOLDIER like Cloud, it would not be powerful enough to stop his fellow Deepground members.

Miles glared at Weiss as he walked down the steps towards the two. "That chip was Hojo's primitive design," Miles explained. "It had been implanted in him for years. Although it was probably more effected when first implanted, it appears overtime Cloud had adapted to it and learned how to overcome the mind control feature. And for your information, that the remote feature I designed was doing a stand-up job at frying his brain before it was destroyed."

Miles turned to first pod with the woman inside it. He checked the pressure valve next to the pod then turned back towards Weiss and continued talking. "My design is based on the microchip the Restrictor implanted in you. It is designed to prevent the subject from harming its master, in their case, Genesis."

"Did you implant a virus like they did with me?" Weiss asked. When the he was under the control of the Restrictor, he was implanted with a chip that released a toxin when he murdered his master. But even that wasn't enough to control someone like Weiss because he eventually found a way to overcome it.

Miles nodded. "Even better," he replied. “I’ve adjusted it so every time the subject so much as attempts to attack their master, not only would they experience pain, they would also risk releasing a toxin causing instant death.”

Miles walked back up the stairs towards his makeshift office. He glanced at the screens to see a Shinra helicopter parked out front of the reactor. On another screen he noticed the Turks arming explosives in the back of the building. On the last screen he spotted Cloud, Tifa, and Cid walking towards the reactor's entrance.

"It looks like we have company," Miles called out to Genesis and Weiss.

"We should free our comrades," Genesis suggested to Weiss.

Miles walked out of the room and walked down the stairs next to Weiss.

"After you release them, I need you to do something for me," Miles told the Tsviet.

Weiss and Genesis were about to walk towards the pods when everything around them went pitch black. A few seconds later, the emergency lights came on consisting of just a few dim yellow and red lights marking the stairs and exit.

Miles frowned. "Now what?" he demanded, looking around.

Genesis and Weiss started to manually open the pods. Due to having no power, they were unable to drain the liquid prior to opening, causing it to pour all over the floor.

The SOLDIERs immediately started to move and awaken when the pods opened. They stepped out of their containment cells and looked around trying to figure out where they were. All three of them smiled when they noticed the familiar face of Genesis standing before them.


	19. Chapter 19

Even with the reactor powered off, Cloud, Tifa, and Cid were able to make their way down to the main bridge by way of the emergency lighting. The lights around the bridge leading to the mako chamber room were a little brighter and illuminated all the way across the room.

Being in this room reminded Tifa of the time she watched her father die in her arms on this very bridge. Although the memory no longer brought tears to her eyes, she would never be able to forget it, just like she would never forget the hatred she felt that day. It was that day she vowed to take revenge on Shinra for ruining her life. After that slight diversion, it didn't take long for Tifa's wondering thoughts to revert to her main objective; tracking down Miles and Genesis.

Suddenly, three entities emerged from the main room across the bridge. Thanks to her improved eyesight, Tifa could make them out in the dim lighting. They were two unknown men and an unknown woman, all wielding weapons.

Spotting them, the dark-haired male and the woman jumped high into the air with their swords drawn. The big man rushed towards them on the narrow catwalk with his large sword raised high above his head.

Cid and Cloud drew their weapons while Tifa raised her fists. Tifa was expecting to be attacked first by the big man but was surprise when he bypassed her and went straight towards Cloud. She turned around to see Cloud fighting the big man and the woman simultaneously while Cid was using his lance to block blows from the dark-haired man. It was like their attackers didn't even know she was there.

Tifa was about to help Cloud when she suddenly stopped and looked towards the entrance to the mako chamber. She knew she should help her friends, but the thought of confronting Miles was drawing her towards that room. That urge was starting to overpower her, and without looking back, Tifa darted across the catwalk leaving her friends to fight a one-sided battle.

*****

As Cloud fought the two attackers, he looked down to see Tifa exit towards the mako chamber. "Tifa!" Cloud called out amid fending off an attack from the large man.

"Where's she goin'?" Cid asked Cloud as he used his spear to throw back the dark-haired man.

"I don't know, but I need to get to her," Cloud explained as he blocked the male attacker's blow with his sword while kicking the woman in the torso, causing her to fly a few feet back.

"Leave them to me," Cid told Cloud. "You go find Tifa."

Cid planned to draw the SOLDIERs outside the reactor where they had reinforcements, but first he needed a distraction. The captain then proceeded to jump away from the dark-haired man onto the catwalk above and quickly lit a cigarette.

"Hey, up here!" he called out to the three SOLDIERs.

The two fighting Cloud were busy battling and did not pay much attention to Cid. The dark-haired man was about to jump up towards the captain when Cid pulled out a stick of dynamite and lit it with his smoke. Upon seeing this, the dark-haired man to stop in his tracks.

The other two SOLDIERs had Cloud surrounded on the narrow bridge with one on either side of him. Seeing what Cid was doing, Cloud jumped just as his two attackers rushed him. As soon as Cloud moved, Cid threw the dynamite causing it to land between the two SOLIDERs. It exploded instantly causing part of the catwalk to break away as smoke and debris surrounding them.

The dark-haired man and woman managed to jump up onto piping above right before the TNT detonated. The bigger man was a little slower to react and was thrown off the bridge, plummeting towards the mako pit below. He was able to catch himself by driving his big sword into the wall, but it was a long way down and Cid hoped he was trapped. This distraction allowed Cloud the opportunity to escape to find Tifa.

"Come get me!" Cid shouted to the pissed off SOLDERs before running towards the exit. 

Forgetting about Cloud, they all took the bait and proceeded to follow Cid.

*****

Reno, Rude, and Barret had just finished arming the explosives and were walking back to the helicopter when Cid came running out of the reactor.

Seeing the Turks and Barret in the distance, Cid started running towards them as fast as he could.

"Get ready!" Cid shouted at them while running and waving his spear.

The others didn't have time to react before a man and woman emerged from the reactor. Spotting Cid's pursuers, they rushed towards Cid's aid with their weapons drawn.

Barret started shooting at the attackers while Reno and Rude drew their guns.

When he reached his comrades, Cid stopped and turned to face his aggressors.

"What the fuck Cid?!" Barret called out to his friend. "Where the hell did they come from?"

"I donno!" Cid yelled back. "They just came from inside the reactor and followed me out here."

Then suddenly, the big blond-haired man with the large sword rushed out of the reactor and joined his fellow Deepground SOLDIERs in battle.

The dark-haired man and the woman seemed to be focused on Cid while the big man rushed the other three. Reno, Rude, and Barret tried their best at firing upon all three of them, but they would just dodge the bullets and continue attacking. No matter how much they fired at the aggressors they could not get a hit in, all they could do was block the relentless attacks.

"Anyone got any ideas?" Reno called out to the group after firing another shot.

"I have an idea, but we are going to need to create some space between us and them," Cid yelled to the redhead after blocking a blow from the woman's sword with his spear.

Cid leaped into the air, narrowly avoiding a strike from the dark-haired man. When he landed, he was a few feet away from the attackers. The other three tried to draw their attention away from Cid by firing more shots which appeared to be working. Cid pulled out his phone and put it to his ear while the female SOLDIER rushed towards him with her sword raised. Cid blocked the woman's attacks with his spear in one hand while talking on the phone with the other. After talking for a brief second, Cid closed his phone, put it back in his pocket and continue fending off the female SOLDIER.

Reno, Rude and Barret were a few feet away from Cid and his attackers when Barret noticed the Shera approaching in the distance. 

"Get ready to run!" Barret told Reno and Rude as they reloaded their weapons.

When the Shera was almost overhead, Barret started to back away from the fight and the Turks followed. Suddenly, multiple giant guns emerged from the side of the airship and pointed directly at the SOLDIERs and Cid.

Cid jumped up high in the air just as the airship opened fire sending an array of bullets, missiles, and explosives towards the aggressors who didn't have enough time to react. Cid landed right next to his friends while they watched the Shera bombard their enemies. The explosions caused a mound of debris to fill the surrounding area. The four of them stood waiting for a few minutes as smoke and dust settled.

"Damn Cid, you're meaning to tell me you can just do that at any time?" Reno asked, admiring the destruction.

"Yeah," Cid replied as he pulled out a cigarette and lit it.

"Do you know how many times in the last week we could have used this?" Reno informed him.

Cid took a drag of his smoke and paused few seconds to think about that before he answered. "Yeah, I guess you got a point," he agreed before taking another drag.

*****

Inside the mako reactor, Tifa entered the main chamber and came face to face with Miles standing at the bottom of the stairs. Seeing Miles caused a wave of adrenaline to rush through her body. Tifa lunged at him, but as soon as she was less than a foot away from the scientist, a wave of pain rushed from her head down her body. It was the exact same thing she felt in Healen but more intense. The pain was so powerful it made her stop in her tracks and fall to her knees.

Miles just stood there like he anticipated this to happen. "I wouldn't do that if I were you," he warned, looking down at her. "I should have cautioned you earlier, I've implanted something in your head that prevents you from harming me. You risk releasing a deadly poison the more you try to attack me, so it would be wise of you to stop."

Tifa heard Miles' explanation but she did not respond, she was in too much pain. Her head was throbbing, and her breathing was shallow, she needed a few seconds to regain her composure. She was furious but there was nothing she could do about it right now. She was not going to risk her life trying to hurt this evil man. She glared up at him outraged as she tried to pull herself up.

"Why are you doing this to me?" Tufa snapped as soon as she was back on her feet. She noticed that as soon as she calmed down the pain started to subside.

"I really didn't want to do this," Miles said sincerely. "But I had a feeling you weren't going to appreciate everything I did for you."

Before Tifa had a chance to respond, Cloud ran into the room.

"So glad you can join us," Miles said, smiling at Cloud.

Tifa turned to look at Cloud with a troubled expression on her face.

"Get away from her," Cloud warned Miles, raising his sword.

"Why?" Miles shrugged. "I'm not going to hurt her, I was just about to thank her for all her help."

This whole time Genesis had been hiding overhead listing to the conversation. He flew down and landed a few feet away from Cloud

"You were right," Genesis informed Miles. "She has been of great value to our plan." At first, he was not sure about Miles plans for Tifa, but after seeing how well it worked out, Genesis was impressed.

"You see Cloud, she had been helping us this whole time," Miles explained. "Dropping you hints about the explosives, chasing after Genesis and me. Of course, she didn't realize it, but she was doing exactly what we wanted her to do."

"I'm sorry," Tifa said to Cloud looking upset. She felt bad for allowing herself to be played so easily.

Miles took a step towards Tifa, causing her to instantly back away from him. She wanted nothing more to hurt him, but she was afraid if she moved too close to him, she would set off her chip. With the way the pain had been intensifying, she feared the next one could be lethal.

As soon as Tifa backed away from Miles fearfully, Cloud rushed towards him with his sword raised. But before Cloud could reached the scientist, Genesis stepped in, engaging him in battle. Tifa wanted to help Cloud but she didn't know if the chip worked on Genesis too. Less than a minute later, the four of them felt a low rumble shake the reactor. It only lasted for a few seconds before it stopped.

Genesis and Cloud hardly noticed the slight quake as they battled but Miles took it as a signal. He pulled out a green materia from his pocket and placed it in the bangle he was wearing.

Tifa was watching the battle but noticed Miles out of the corner of her eye. She watched as he was about to cast something on Cloud, who was too busy battling to notice. Tifa couldn't just stand back while Miles ambushed Cloud, she knew she had to stop him.

"Cloud!" Tifa warned, then she rushed over and gabbed Miles' arm just as he was about to cast the spell. Instantly, an unbearable pain rushed through her body as soon as she contacted the scientist. As she tightened her grip on Miles' arm, the pain in her head intensified. The agony was so forceful she couldn't do anything else other than hold his arm as she prevented him from using the materia.

Miles was trying franticly to free himself from her grip to stop her suffering, but she would not let go. He stepped back just as Tifa fell to the ground unconscious.

*****

Cloud stopped fighting as soon as he spotted Tifa struggling with Miles. "Tifa!" Cloud yelled as soon as he noticed her hit the flood.

Genesis used the distraction to his advantage. He impaled Cloud's right shoulder with his sword forcing him to continue the fight or risk death.

Meanwhile, Miles was looking down at Tifa in shock. “Don’t worry, I have an antiadote,” Miles said to the unconscious woman. He ran up the stairs to his desk and after a second of searching, he found what he was looking for and ran back down the stairs.

On the other side of the room, Vincent had heard the commotion in the main chamber and walked in to see an injured Cloud fighting Genesis. Nearby, he spotted Miles running down the stairs towards an unconscious Tifa with something sharp in his hand. Thinking that the scientist was about to harm Tifa, he fired a shot at Miles, hitting him in the torso. This caused Miles to fall backwards and slid down a few stairs before stopping himself. While trying to catch himself on the stairs, the syringe holding the antidote shattered in his hand.

Vincent took a shot at Genesis, but it missed. The winged man then jumped away from Cloud with his sword raised. Cloud tried to raise his sword, but his wound was making it difficult.

Cloud was standing next to Vincent by the entrance with Genesis standing closer to the stairs. Cloud was about to attack when the ground started to quake again. This time with a lot more force, as the whole reactor shook, a loud rumble could be heard all around. The reactor was shaking with so much force that debris were falling around them. If the reactor continued shaking like this, it felt like it was going to collapse very soon.

Suddenly, a large section of piping and debris fell between Genesis and Cloud separating the two. Genesis took this opportunity to rush over to Miles who was sitting next to Tifa while holding his bullet wound.

"We are taking her with us," Miles told Genesis, changing the plan.

Genesis reluctantly agreed. He then proceeded to pick them up, one in each arm, and take off flying towards a maintenance latch located above them. Genesis was lucky they were both very light or he wouldn't have been able to make it. Despite the excess weight, he successfully dodged the falling debris as flew them to safety.

Cloud tried to find a way around the blockage, but he narrowly missed being crushed by a big piece of rubble that fell from above. He found an opening and looked past the debris to where he last spotted Tifa, only to discover that she was gone along with Miles and Genesis. The reactor was still shaking rapidly, with piping and metal continuing to fall around them.

"Cloud, we have to get out of here before it collapses," Vincent warned him.

"I can't leave without Tifa!" Cloud told his friend.

"They must have taken her with them," Vincent informed him. 

Agreeing with his friend, Cloud and Vincent rushed out of the reactor as fast as they could.

*****

Weiss managed to sneak out through the back exit while all the commotion was going on out front. Although he did not personally like the scientist, he was pleased with his plan. The Turks planted a lot of powerful explosives in one single location in the back of the reactor. Weiss' job was to use the quake materia Miles gave him to shake the reactor as a warning. Then, five minutes later he was to use the quake spell again to continuously shake the reactor until he saw Genesis exit. Weiss was impressed with Miles' materia, it was the most powerful quake materia he had ever used.

Then, as soon as Genesis exited the reactor, Weiss was to set off the explosives and retreat through the exit into the mountain behind the reactor. If everything went according to plan, Cloud would be trapped inside the reactor when it detonated.

Weiss didn't like the idea of leaving his fellow Deepground members fighting a battle out front, but they knew the plan and were told to retreat as soon as the reactor was destroyed. With the explosive lit, Weiss proceeded to hike through the mountain by himself to meet Genesis and Miles at the rendezvous.

*****

Less than a few seconds after Vincent and Cloud exited the reactor, it went up in an explosive ball with the remaining structure engulfed in flames.

Barret, Cid, and the Turks were all standing next to the helicopter a safe distance away. Nearby, the three SOLDIER hostages were propped up against each other, unconscious, battered looking, and secured with chains.

Everyone was startled by the unexpected explosion, prompting Reno to check the detonator to make sure he didn't press anything by accident.

Instantly, Vincent transformed into chaos and took off into the sky while Cloud ran over to the others.

"Where's Tifa?" Cid asked with a concerned look.

"They have her," Cloud informed his friends. "We need to look for her before they get too far."

With that said, the Turks and Cloud quickly took off in their helicopter to get a head start on searching while Cid and Barret waited for the Shrea to arrive so they could load the prisoners before assisting.


	20. Chapter 20

It was evening outside the Junon WRO building. Inside the top floor office, Reeve decided to stop reading and close the large file in front of him. It was the end of another long day, in the middle of a very long week, and he was exhausted. He pushed the file aside as he reached into his bottom desk drawer and pulled out a bottle of Saki. He was not the type to drink, especially at work, but a week like this called for something strong. He proceeded to pull out a glass, filled it a third of the way and drank it in one gulp. Needing some fresh air, he stood up from his desk and walked over to the balcony door to step outside. His office overlooked the ocean and the cool breeze was welcoming on such as warm day. As he stood outside watching the crimson sky grow dark over the sea, he couldn't help but reflect on everything that had happened over the last few months.

It had been eight months since they destroyed the Mt. Nibel reactor and Tifa went missing. For the first three weeks they all helped search the globe for Tifa, but it was like her and her abductors disappeared into thin air. They checked every city and town, even the abandoned town of Modehiem. Leaving no stone unturned, they searched every building and location that ever had a link to Shinra or Deepground. They even checked uninhabited areas like the Midgar ruins and the Northern Crater, but no success.

Overtime, many of their friends eventually abandoned searching to get back to their responsibilities. Barret had Marlene and Corel, Reeve had his organization to run. Reeve felt bad that he was one of the first to give up searching, but he told Cloud to call him if he ever needed anything.

After Reeve and Barret left, Cid and Vincent stayed with Cloud for another few weeks. Yuffie joined them as soon as Shelke was discharged from the hospital. Shelke went to stay with her sister in Healen to recover while Barret took Marlene and Denzel to Corel with him after he departed from the search.

On the fourth week they started to run out of places to look. On day Cid stopped by Junon to gather supplies when Reeve decided to board the airship to check in on his friends. Reeve would never forget how tired and drained they all looked, especially Cloud. It was obvious Cloud was taking this the hardest, and rightfully so. Reeve could tell everyone was losing hope, they all had their lives to get back to, but nobody wanted to say anything to Cloud. As if sensing their thoughts, one day Cloud thanked them all for their help and decided to take Fenrir to go look on his own. Some of their friends offered to continue searching with him, but Cloud didn't want to burden them anymore. Reeve hadn't seen Cloud since that day over six months ago.

Reeve would have liked to do more to help his friend, but he had been so overwhelmed with his own problems over the last few months. After the attacks on Edge, Junon, and Corel, the WRO was under pressure to find the people responsible and had been receiving a lot of bad publicity for failing to catch them. They did manage to capture the three SOLDIERs who attacked his friends outside the Mt. Nibel reactor but after weeks of questioning the suspects, they continued to insist that they knew nothing of the attacks on the three cities.

Although there was no evidence the three were involved, they were still charged for the crimes. It was believed that holding them responsible would settle the masses who had been growing discontent. Unfortunately, the press got news of the defendants' story, and the lack of evidence against them, which angered many people who felt they were innocent and made the WRO look incompetent. To try to make things right, Reeve tried to ensure they received a fair trial. The trial had commenced last week in Junon and had been flooding the news daily.

To Reeve, it felt like the criminals had more citizens supporting them than the WRO right now. Although there were always people who had opposed his organization, it seemed that recently the public opinion has been shifting against them. What was once viewed as an army that protected the people was now considered an army that couldn't protect the people from terrorists and couldn't even locate the real criminals responsible. The attacks produced many casualties and many of the administrative staff resigned as they no longer felt safe in their work environment. Now, with the recent protests in Junon, more WRO personnel were walking out daily. This left his company seriously understaffed and he was in the process of a massive hiring with very few people showing interest.

He even had to shut down his smallest office in Corel in order to fill staff in other locations. Since the Corel oil refinery project was finished, they no longer needed WRO personnel in that area anyway. With the way things were going Reeve, didn't think the World Regenesis Organization could take any more bad publicity.

To make matters worse, Barret had been dragging Reeve into his problems with Corel. Since the oil refinery had been producing product, Corel had been increasing its transportation of petroleum to cities far away like Edge and Kalm. However, to do this they had to transport the product by sea. The original plan was to use the Junon harbor like every other import, but once the environmental activists heard that there was going to be an increase in petroleum products passing through their city, they put a stop to it.

Since Junon only uses sustainable energy like solar, wind, and ocean power many of the citizens oppose all non-renewable energy sources; especially anything that takes from the planet like coal, oil, and mako. Not only had the activists manage to petition the Junon government to boycott Corel from using their harbor, they have been actively trying to convince Kalm to boycott the petroleum as well. With the Junon harbor out of the question, the new plan was to build a harbor near Kalm, but the activist had been successful in trying to convince the people of Kalm to reconsider.

For the past week Barret had been pressuring Reeve to stop the Junon activists, but as long as they were not breaking any laws, there was nothing he could do. Junon was a democracy and if the people of Junon decided they did not want to use oil products, there was nothing more he could do. Reeve could understand where the activists were coming from and he was surprised that Barret could not sympathize with them since he was once in their shoes when he fought against mako production.

It didn't help the image of his company that he promoted and even invested in the oil refinery project making the Junon citizens look less favorably on the WRO. If things got any worse, Reeve was considering moving the main headquarters to their Edge location since the WRO was starting to feel unwelcomed in coastal city.

Suddenly, Reeve's wondering thoughts were snapped back to reality by a knock at the door. He turned to see Yuffie peek her head into his office and entered as soon as she saw that Reeve was alone.

Reeve exited the balcony and walked back over to his desk.

The young ninja was wearing a white blouse and navy-blue skirt with knee high boots. She had been working in an administrative position for over year now and it still surprised Reeve how professional she could look and act when she tried.

"Another late night?" Yuffie asked, sitting down on the chair in front of his desk.

"I don't plan on staying much longer," Reeve informed her as he sat back down.

"I was just about to leave and wanted to see if you needed anything."

"Thanks, Yuffie, but I'm fine," Reeve replied. "I can't thank you enough for coming to Junon. I know you still have work to finish back in Edge, I appreciate all your help."

"Think nothing of it, Reeve," Yuffie responded, shrugging off his compliment. "I know things are getting a little crazy around here. Sorry to report that the latest bunch of applicants are not very promising."

Since she arrived in Junon, Yuffie had been tasked with the assignment of interviewing anyone who applied for a position with the WRO. They only had ten applicants apply within the last month since the positions were posted with most of them being young men from smaller communities looking for work as peacekeepers. Unfortunately, the last three they hired turned down the job the very next day when they learned of the protests. Reeve couldn't help but wonder if the protesters pressured them to turn down the position.

"If you're recommending anyone you can send me the file in the morning," Reeve advised his young friend. He was not in the mood to do any more work tonight.

The WRO only had half of the staff it had last year thanks to the attacks eight months ago and the massive walkout. The Junon location suffered the most and had to temporarily relocate staff from Edge to Junon so it could at least function with a skeleton crew.

"One of the applicants worked for Shinra on the 27th floor," Yuffie informed Reeve trying to give him some positive news. "I think she was an assistant or something, it's on her resume."

"That's promising," Reeve commented. They seemed to have the most success hiring ex-Shinra employees since they had the experience and required very little training.

"It's funny how most of the people who stuck with us are ex-Shinra," Yuffie commented in passing. "I guess they are used to the bad publicity." She paused once she realized what she said. "I'm sorry Reeve, I didn't mean it like that," Yuffie tried to apologize.

"That's okay," Reeve reassured his friend. What Yuffie said had some truth to it. Reeve was learning the hard way that even when you try to do the right thing and help people, you can't please everyone.

"Well, it's getting late, I should head back to the Inn," Yuffie informed Reeve. "Don't work too hard, okay?" She gave him a concerned look before getting up from the chair.

"I won't be staying much longer," he assured her. "Have a good night Yuffie."

*****

The Junon detention center was a cold and sterile institution. Build only three years ago, it was nowhere near as bad as some of the other prisons Alex had come across in his lifetime. The worse being the Corel Prison, if you wanted to call it a prison, it was more like a concentration camp.

The young man with the short dark hair got up from his bed and walked over to the thick metal cell door. He peeked through the small opening between the door and the wall.

"Hey, James, you up?" the young man yelled through the crack, waiting for a response.

"Yeah," he heard the voice of his friend say from two cells down.

"Remember the time you got yourself stuck in that Corel dump, then Henry and I had to come rescue you?" Alex reminisced.

It was almost ten years ago when his friend wasted all his money betting on the chocobos so he accused the owner Dio of rigging the races. He was so drunk he tried to start a fight with the Gold Saucer owner, but it didn't end well. James had a bad temper and it took five security robots to take him down. That little incident earned him a one-way ticket to the Corel Prison. Luckily, Alex and their friend Henry found out and borrowed a Shinra helicopter to rescue him. He didn't even know if Dio found out about the escape, but their boss did, and they were suspended for a week.

"Yeah," James replied, remembering the event all too well.

"I bet you never thought you'd wish to be back in that dump," Alex commented smiling.

Although the Junon Detention center was cleaner and a lot safer than the Corel Prison, it was boring as hell being confined to a little cell twenty-four hours of the day—minus the one-hour yard time and shower. At least with the Corel Prison you could move around and keep up on your fighting skills.

Alex could hear James laugh at his comment. "Yeah, where's a helicopter when you need one?" he joked.

"Shut the hell up!" another prisoner yell at the two men from down the range.

"You shut the hell up!" a woman's voice yelled from the cell across from Alex.

Being only a detention center for prisoners awaiting trial, it was common for women and men to be held in the same area since they were all in single cells. The cell range they were on held twenty-five cells with less than half of them occupied.

"Thanks Kat," Alex called to the woman.

"No problem hun," Katerina replied.

"Bitch," they could hear the other prisoner mumble under his breath.

Before Katerina could respond, they were all startled by the sounds of yelling and gunfire coming from another room down the range. Hearing the commotion, all the prisoners got up and tried to peek out through the little glass window in their cell doors. After almost a minute of gunfire and yelling there was silence. A few seconds later they could hear footsteps approaching along with the sound of keys rattling.

Being in one of the closest cells, Alex was the first to see who it was.

"About time," Alex commented, recognizing Weiss from the Mt. Nibel reactor. Weiss was with five other men Alex did not recognize and they were all holding guns.

"Who is it?" James asked from inside his cell, unable to see down that far.

"That spikey haired guy from Mt. Nibel," Alex called back to his friend as Weiss tried to find the key to his cell. The incident at the Mt. Nibel reactor happened so fast they never got to find out Weiss' name.

"Ask him why it took over six months for him to show up!" James yelled out.

"You can ask him yourself in a second," Alex yelled back, stepping out of his cell a free man. It was obvious Weiss could hear James, but his friend was a little slow sometimes. "Cells three and six," Alex said, identifying the cells that contained his colleges.

Weiss handed the keys to one of his accomplices, directing him to open the doors. The man opened the cells freeing Katerina and James.

"Hey what about us?" the prisoner in cell number four asked.

They all looked at Weiss who shrugged. "Sure," Weiss said to the man with the keys. He was always a fan of chaos and what better than releasing criminals back into society.

"Not that one," Katerina stopped the man just when he was about to unlock cell number five.

"Ahhh hey lady, I'm sorry I called you a bitch," the man whined, realizing he was not going to be freed.

As soon as the prisoners were freed, they all took off towards the door Weiss and his men entered from.

"Are we going to follow them?" Alex asked Weiss. It was the only exit since there was a solid cement wall at the other end of the range.

Weiss held out his hand and one of his men handed him a big strange looking gun with a wide barrel. Weiss pointed it at the concrete wall at the end of the range and switched it on. It charged up then a red beam of light burst out of the gun and hit the wall. Everyone around them could feel the heat from the laser like beam. The concrete the beam hit appeared to heat up and melt leaving a perfectly shaped circle.

"I love this thing," Weiss said, handing the large gun back to his henchman.

The group then proceeded to retreat through the newly created egress leaving the one prisoner alone in his cell.

"Bitch..." the prisoner said out loud after everyone was gone.

*****

Less than half an hour after Yuffie left, Reeve decided to call it a night. He got up from his desk and walked over to his coatrack to fetch his suit jacket. He locked his office door and walked down the empty hallway towards the elevator. He was likely the last one remaining in the building apart from the night security guard.

Reeve pressed the button to the elevator and waiting for it to travel from the ground floor. When it finally reached him, he entered. As the elevator descended, he looked up at the security camera and noticed that the red light on the camera was not blinking. This meant that the light was either broken or the camera was off. He made a mental note to talk to the night watchman about it on his way out.

When the elevator reached the ground floor, it opened, and Reeve came face to face with four men dressed as peacekeepers pointing their guns at him.

"What is the meaning—"

Reeve sentence was suddenly cut short when one of the men shot a tranquilizer dart into his shoulder, rendering him unconscious.

 

 


	21. Chapter 21

When Reeve awoke, he was lying face down on a cold floor. The room was dimly lit but the faint light still irritated his eyes. He tried to ignore the pain as he lifted his head off the floor to look around. He was in a make shift prison cell in what looked like a big office with a desk and computer in the middle of the room. The only source of light was a small lamp located on the desk. His containment consisted of a small section of the room enclosed by metal bars. Realizing he was alone, he sat up against the wall as he took in his surroundings.

As Reeve surveyed the room, he couldn't see anything that provided him with any clues as to where he was. The room was visibly empty, but he couldn't help sense that he was being watched. That's when he noticed the shadow of something or someone under the desk looking at him from behind the chair.

"Hello?" Reeve asked, wondering if the small shadow was human.

It didn't move or respond to his voice, but Reeve was sure it was alive because he could see the slight shine of its eyes. "Maybe it's a pet dog," Reeve thought to himself.

Reeve leaned forward and crawled over to the cell bars, sticking his hand out while trying to get its attention. As soon as Reeve stuck his arm out, the shadow took off from the opening through the back of the desk and quickly ran across the room. It proceeded to open a small door in the wall, like a laundry shoot or a dumbwaiter, then disappeared inside and shut the door.

A few seconds later, someone walked into the room and turned on the lights as they entered. Reeve stood up as soon as he noticed that it was Miles entering.

"You!" Reeve growled furiously, gabbing the cell bars at the sight of the scientist.

"Long time no see," Miles greeted Reeve with a smile. He shut the door behind him and walked over to his desk.

"Where's Tifa?!" Reeve demanded. He reached into his pocket for his phone, but it was gone. If he could only let the others know he found Miles.

"Looking for this?" Miles asked, holding up a piece of Reeve's broken phone on the desk. He must have broken it to ensure Reeve could not be tracked.

"And don't worry," Miles said, throwing Reeve's phone back on his desk. "She is perfectly safe."

"Where are you holding her?" Reeve asked, infuriated.

"Holding her? I would never do such a thing," Miles said, sounding insulted. "She is free to go wherever she pleases, see for yourself." Miles walked over to the door and opened it. "Tifa!" he yelled out the door. "Can you come here, please?"

Miles walked back over to the desk and sat on the corner of the table looking at Reeve with his arms folded and a big grin on his face.

Less than a minute later, Reeve was surprised to see Tifa walk into the room holding sandwiches and two bottles of water. She walked over next to Miles and laid a bottle of water and a sandwich down on the desk.

"I brought you some lunch," Tifa explained as she placed the food down.

Seeing Tifa alive and well, Reeve was speechless.

"Thank you, that's very kind of you," Miles said to Tifa in a sweet voice.

Tifa smiled at Miles then looked over at Reeve while holding the extra sandwich and water. "Are you hungry?" she asked Reeve. She was looking at him like he was a stranger.

"Tifa! Are you okay? We've been so worried about you!" Reeve said as he grasped the cell bars tight. He was eager find out what happened to her. He wanted nothing more than to go over and hug her right now. For the last few months he was starting to think she was dead.

Tifa responded with a questioning expression, like she was trying to figure out who he was. "I'm sorry, I don't—"

"Unfortunately, Reeve," Miles interrupted. "Tifa does not remember you or anyone else. She was injured during the Mt. Nibel incident and has amnesia. She didn't even know her name until we told her."

Miles put his hand on Tifa's lower back and caressed it, trying to comfort her. "Tifa, this is Reeve," Miles said, motioning to man trapped in the cell. "Remember I told you about him? He was the Shinra executive who founded the World Regenesis Organization."

Tifa looked at Reeve with a frown. "I remember," she said.

"Tifa, honey, would you please excuse us while I talk to Reeve?" Miles asked the female.

Tifa nodded and placed the food down on the desk before exiting the room.

"What did you tell her?!" Reeve demanded, furious at the scientist. If he was telling the truth and she really did have amnesia, Miles had to be manipulating her with lies.

"I only told her the truth," Miles explained. "The poor girl has some memories, but mostly about her childhood and Shinra destroying her hometown. So, we explained to her that we were her allies fighting Shinra before it fell. Now our new enemy is the WRO who was founded by a Shinra executive and funded by the ex-president Shinra himself." Miles laughed. "We also explained that we were in the process of destroying her hometown's reactor when you and your friends showed up to stop us and she was injured in the process."

"Those are all lies and half-truths," Reeve said, angry at his deception.

"To you maybe," Miles shrugged. "To Tifa we are the only family she has and she's happy here. We told her our plan and she is willing to help us."

Reeve's frown deepened. "What's your plan?" he asked.

"You'll see," Miles said, then he stopped to think. "Actually, you won't see because you will not be leaving this basement alive. The only reason you are still breathing is because you still hold some value to us."

Miles then took the extra sandwich and water Tifa left on the desk and threw it between the cell bars at Reeve. "You are lucky she is such a nice person, enjoy your meal." 

With that said, Miles took his sandwich and water and exited the room.

*****

Genesis and Weiss were sitting at the kitchen table while Katerina and Alex were facing the table as they stood leaning on the counter. They were in the middle of a conversation when Tifa entered the kitchen and walked over to the open counter space next to Alex to continue making lunch.

"So, what the hell happened?" Alex asked the winged man. "Last thing I remember is volunteering for some Deepground experiment, then four years later, you're waking us up and the world's gone to shit."

Genesis took a sip of his tea before answering. "Long story short, after you were anaesthetized, Sephiroth and Jenova tried to destroy the world by summing a meteor. He was unsuccessful, but Shinra and Midgar were destroyed in the process. We found you three inside a subterranean laboratory located under the rubble of what was once the Sector 3 slums. Then Weiss here tried to overthrow the Restrictors and got a little carried away." Genesis looked over at Weiss who rolled his eyes in response. "He tried to summon Omega and was possessed by Hojo. He too was defeated, then I woke up from my slumber."

"Oh," Alex replied. He paused briefly as he processed all that information. "Well, thanks for saving us. I know that's the last time I ever volunteer for an experiment."

Genesis did not acknowledge the thanks and continued drinking his tea. He did not need to be thanked for what he did. Almost everyone in that room was alive thanks to each other's help. Weiss and Nero saved him after he was defeated by Zack, and he saved Weiss in return. After Omega was destroyed and he discovered Weiss' body, he was lucky he found Miles. Not knowing how much the world changed during his slumber, Genesis took Weiss to Mideel to find a back-country doctor only to discover the town in ruins. Miles was living nearby and happened to stumble upon them. That's when they both realized they had similar goals and common enemies. Shortly after that, Miles joined the WRO while Genesis spent months combing through the Midgar ruins looking for information relating to Deepground and checking the many properties owned by the secret organization. Unfortunately, the Turks were also searching the ruins, so it was a race for Genesis to get everything he was looking for without being discovered. Luckily, he knew where to look, unlike the Turks, and he stumbled upon his old colleagues first.

"So, what's up with this World Regenesis Organization? Are they running things now?" Alex asked. 

Genesis nodded in confirmation. In his mind there was little difference between the WRO and Shinra. Shinra was an electrical power company that overtime grew so powerful it became the government of Midgar. Overtime it grew into an army that started wars with any city that didn't agree with them. The WRO on the other hand, is an army that was trying to act like a world leader. Genesis knew absolute power corrupts absolutely, so it would just be a matter of time before the WRO became as twisted as Shinra and he had to stop them before that happened.

Years ago, when Genesis showed signs of degradation and Hollander's promises of a cure failed him, in an act of desperation, he started to recreate his favorite book LOVELESS. In his attempt to re-enact the book he viewed himself as the hero and Zack as the prisoner. He thought by fighting Zack he would obtain the gift of the Goddess and be cured. It was not until he was defeated by Zack the he realized that he was not the hero from the book but the prisoner. Once he accepted this truth, he received the gift of the Goddess. After he was cured of degradation by the Goddess materia, he had a revelation and realized he was chosen by the Goddess. He was proud to be a SOLDIER, but he cannot ignore the fact that him and his friends were used by the company. He promised to take up their legacy and protect the planet, so history would never repeat itself.

"We are going to rid the planet of the World Regenesis Organization so future generations won't have to suffer the same fate as us," Genesis explained to his Deepground allies. 

Genesis knew not everyone in his group felt the same way as him. Miles and Weiss cared little about saving the world. Miles only liked the plan because it involved ruining the WRO. Weiss did not object to the plan but was only going along with it because it involved the resurgence of Deepground and destroying the people who defeated him almost two years ago.

Genesis was glad to have his old comrades in the house. Up until now the only person he could have a philosophical and intelligent conversation with was Tifa. Miles was always busy planning and Weiss was not much in the way of a conversationalist. Genesis could tell Weiss viewed him as weak for wanting the help the humans, but he didn't care. He knew he was more powerful than Weiss and over the past few months he had been trying to show Weiss the errors of wanting too much chaos. With Genesis' help the psychopath was beginning to realize that his plan to destroy the world was a little much. Too bad Sephiroth was not able to realize this before it was too late; he was a good friend.

"Even if the morrow is barren of promises. Nothing shall forestall my return. To become the dew that quenches the land. To spare the sands, the seas, the skies. I offer thee this silent sacrifice." Genesis quoted out loud before taking another sip of his tea.

Alex looked at Genesis blankly, then smiled. "Good to see you haven't changed much," he said to his friend.

Tifa had been silently listening to the conversation making food. She put a sandwich on a plate and cut it into small strips.

"I have a few extras if anyone wants them," Tifa said, referring to two sandwiches still on the cutting board.

Genesis and Weiss declined, but Alex and Katerina gladly accepted the food. The two ate in silence until they could hear the loud footsteps of James walking into the kitchen. The brawny man looked like he just woke up with his blond hair messy and still looking sleepy.

"I haven't slept in a bed that soft in years," James said to everyone while stretching. Then he noticed his two friends eating the sandwiches. "Where did you get those?" he asked, looking hungry.

"Tifa made them for us," Alex explained with his mouth full. "They're really good."

As Alex talked, Tifa had her back to James and was reaching into the refrigerator looking for something. James smiled at Tifa, admiring the view of her ass as she was bending over. Tifa was the only one not noticing James checking her out.

Katerina rolled her eyes and frowned at the sight of James being a pig.

Still not noticing the gawker, Tifa took some juice out of the fridge and onto the counter next to it with her back still turned to James.

With a grin on his face, James walked over behind her. "Hey, sweet cheeks," he said, reaching out his hand. "Can you make me one of those?"

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Genesis warned, but it didn't register in time since James had already grabbed Tifa's ass.

As soon as James' hand made contact, Tifa reached behind and gabbed his arm as she turned around. She then twisted James' wrist, forcing him down onto his knees. She continued to forcefully twist his arm behind him in an arm lock while he yelled in pain. Everyone around him could hear a pop sound like his shoulder was coming out of its socket. Tifa was frowning as she twisted his arm further causing him to yelp again.

"She doesn't like it when you do that," Weiss informed the big man as he leaned back in his chair smiling.

"I like her," Katerina commented, watching the scene with a big smile on her face.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" James yelled, wanting the pain to stop. He was a strong man and he could not believe this girl's strength.

Hearing the commotion, a small hooded figure walked into the kitchen from the same entrance James emerged from. The figure was around three feet tall wearing blue jeans and a black hoodie with the hood up covering its head.

Noticing the miniature person, Tifa smiled and instantly released James' arm while helping him up onto his feet. James rubbed his shoulder sulkily while Tifa walked over and picked the small person up in her arms. She pulled back their hood revealing a young girl with long brown hair and bright blue mako eyes. The girl smiled at Tifa and hugging her.

Seeing the child, Katerina smiled at the girl and walked over to them. "What's her name?" Katerina asked.

"Chloe," Tifa replied, brushing the girl's hair out of her face.

"How old is she?" Katerina asked.

"Almost five months," Tifa explained.

Katerina gave her a questionable look. "You mean five years?"

"No, months," Tifa corrected, not surprised by the confusion.

"We think it's due to the mako exposure," Miles explained.

Everyone was so busy looking at Tifa and the child, no one noticed Miles standing by the basement entrance.

"Tifa needed to undergo mako treatments to survive her pregnancy," Miles continued to explain. "We believe the direct exposure to mako in the womb caused her rapid growth. It has been known to stall the growth of children exposed to mako, it appears to do the opposite when exposed during gestation." 

"So, you're one of us," Katerina said softly to the child, bending over so they were face to face.

The girl smiled at the woman and reached her hand out touching Katerina's face gently.

"She can't talk yet," Tifa informed Katerina. "Miles thinks her growth will return to normal as she ages."

Tifa walked across the kitchen and put the child in a seat at the table. She then brought Chloe over the cut sandwich and juice.

Miles walked over to the child used one hand to affectionately mess up the girl's hair. The girl looked up at the scientist and smiled before eating. Miles approached the counter and placed down the half sandwich he didn't finish.

"Are you going to eat that?" James asked, eyeing at the sandwich hungrily.

"No," Miles replied, prompting James to quickly grab the food and scarf it down.

"Now that we're all here, we should go over the plans for tomorrow," Miles explained to the group and they all proceeded to listen carefully to the briefing.

*****

After many months of searching, Cloud was exhausted, shattered, and disheartened but he was not going to give up. Since leaving his friends in Junon, he had been looking for Tifa on his own. That was over six months ago, and he had yet to find a single clue. He looked in every town he could think of and talked to as many people as possible, with no luck. Tifa was his everything and looking for her was the only thing he had left. His friends would call from time to time leaving voice messages. He never returned their calls, but he would check to make sure the messages were not about Tifa, they never were.

Cloud was searching near Gongaga when he received a message from Cid telling him that he wanted to meet up and he had some important information. Cloud immediately packed up his bike and rushed across the continent towards Rocket Town.

Although Rocket Town had not developed as much as a town like Corel, it was still growing and thriving. Seeing the Shera parked in the field outside, Cloud knew he would find Cid tinkering in his workshop.

Over the years Cid had managed to build a big workshop near his house which he used to work on various projects in his free time. When Cloud entered the shop, he found Cid working on what looked like a jet engine. Cid looked up when he noticed someone had entered.

"Hey," Cid told Cloud with a big smile, happy to see his friend.

"You said you had some information," Cloud asked Cid. He wanted to continue searching and didn't have time for small talk.

Cid paused for a second and gave him a guilty look, not sure what to say. "It was Shera's idea," he said, sounding a little nervous. "She suggested I call you. We thought you could use a good meal and a bed to sleep in. I'm on vacation this week so first thing tomorrow we can use the ship and I can help you search for a few days."

"Not interested," Cloud said abruptly, then turned to leave. He was angry at Cid for wasting his time. He knew his friends had given up hope. He did not need Cid's pity. Cid would never say it, but Cloud knew he didn't think they were going to find her. Cid was only offering to help him search in exchange for taking a break. He couldn't help but think if Cid would stop searching if it was Shera who went missing. Cloud immediately felt a little guilty for thinking that. He knew his friends were just looking out for him, but he was still not going to accept Cid's offer.

"Sorry," Cloud said to Cid before shutting the door behind him.

Cloud left the town and boarded his bike in frustration. It was going to take him half a day of straight driving to get back to the Gongaga area. He drove without stopping and was a few miles outside Cosmo Canyon when he decided to set up camp for the night.

It was nightfall when he started a fire and reached into his bag for some canned food. He had just finished heating his dinner when he heard a noise. He looked around, but the light from the fire made it impossible to make out anything in the surrounding darkness. He slowly laid down his food and reached for his sword lying next to him. Holding the sword handle he waited to see if he heard the noise again.

A few seconds later, he heard what sounded like someone or something approaching. He stood and raised his sword when he noticed the shine of eyes reflecting off the light from the fire. They were close to the ground, so he knew they were not human. Assuming they belonged to a monster, Cloud prepared himself for an attack.

"Cloud, it's me," he heard a familiar voice say.

Instantly, Cloud recognized the voice as Nanakin. He lowered his sword as the cat like creature approached his camp.

"My apologies for startling you," Nanakin said as he stepped into the light and sat by the fire.

"That's okay," Cloud said, sitting back down and picking up the plate next to him. "Hungry?" he asked, motioning to the pot of food sitting next to the fire.

"No, thank you," Red replied, shaking his head. "I have been trying to track you down for three days now," he informed his friend.

"What for?" Cloud asked after taking a bite of his food. He hoped this was not another attempt to get him take a break.

"I just came from Mideel," Red informed Cloud.

"There is nothing in Mideel, I checked." Cloud informed his friend flatly.

The small village was destroyed a few years ago by the lifestream after the Ultimate Weapon attack. The inhabitants waited for the mako to recede back into the ground, but after months of waiting it never receded, so they abandoned the town.

"I know." Nanakin agreed. "Four days ago, I was deep in the jungle near the town's ruins when I located a concealed WRO airship and a house. I watched the house all day and did not see anyone emerge, but I think you should check it out."

Nanakin explained that he was unable to enter the property without making himself known. He walked around the house and tried to look in the windows, but all the downstairs blinds were drawn. He said that he was sure people were living there and he recognized the scent as Tifa’s. 

Cloud thought Nanakin's tip was a long shot, but this was the closest thing he had to a clue since Tifa went missing. Seeing as how it was nighttime, he planned to leave at sunrise first thing in the morning. Mideel was far and it would take him a few days to reach it by bike. He wished he had Cid's airship right now.

"How did you manage to find me?" Cloud asked his friend. He never told anyone where he was going and the only person he had talked to in the last few months was Cid earlier today.

"I searched everywhere and the only person I could find was Cid in Rocket Town," Nanakin explained. "I guess I just missed you because he told me you visited him earlier today. I told him to call you, but he said you probably wouldn't return his call. That's when we went looking for you and noticed the fire."

"Cid's here?" Cloud asked.

"He's waiting for us just over that hill," Nanakin said, motioning behind him.

Now Cloud felt like a fool. Not only was he mean to his friend, if he had of stayed in Rocket Town like Cid wanted, Nanakin would have found him sooner and they would be in Mideel by now.

Cloud proceeded to pack up his belongings and put out the fire. When the fire was extinguished, he took his bike and followed his friend towards the airship.

*****

It was late, and everyone was asleep except Miles, Weiss, and Genesis. Inside the shed behind the house, Mile was busy calibrating his machine when Weiss entered to give him an update. The shed was Miles' workshop with a workbench full of tools. The large machine he was working on took up most of the free space in the shop. Weiss was to the right of Miles leaning on the workbench. The scientist was so focused on his machine he failed to notice that the spiky haired man had blood all over his clothes and hands.

"It took a lot of persuasion, but I was able to obtain most of the information you wanted," Weiss informed the scientist with a smile. 

It was no surprise to Miles when Weiss happily volunteer his services for the prisoner's interrogation as it gave him a chance to release some built-up stress. It was obvious that being cooped up in the house for the last few months was starting to drive Weiss crazy.

Miles stopped what he was doing and look up at Weiss. "You didn't use the solution I provided you?" he asked, frowning.

"I wanted to try it the old fashion way first," Weiss explained with a shrug. "He was stubborn, I had to use your method once the screams became too loud, but I don't think anyone upstairs heard." 

"Are you sure you have all the security details and passwords?" Miles asked.

Weiss nodded. "I tried to ask him about the location of the weapon, but he wouldn't or couldn't answer, when I tried to persuade him further, he passed out."

"No matter," Miles said, turning back to his machine. "All that information we need we'll obtain from the files. Once we have secured both buildings, we'll be unstoppable."

Weiss smiled evilly. He was about to say something when Genesis entered the shed, interrupting the conversation. 

"I don't think using her is a good idea," Genesis stated as he stood behind Miles with his arms crossed.

Miles was now kneeling on the ground, tightening a bolt with a socket wrench and seemed to be too engrossed in his work to reply.

"Who else are we going to use?" Weiss asked Genesis. "Miles and I are on wanted posters scattered throughout the city, the other three are fugitives, and you have a giant wing coming out of your back. She's the only one who can walk into the city and the building without drawing any attention."

"Can't we just use one of the renegades?" Genesis suggested, trying to come up with an alternative solution. 

Miles had the same worries, but he also considered all other options before formulating this plan. Using Tifa was a big risk but he tried to mitigate it as much as possible. He stopped what he was doing and stood up to face the winged man.

"First off, we can't trust the renegades with this sensitive information," Miles explained. "Secondly, I plan to use them as backup should the need arise. Finally, all our intel indicates that none of them are in Edge right now, this is the perfect time for her to strike." Miles then took the wrench he was holding and walked over to his workbench laying it down before turning back towards Genesis. "Nevertheless, it will be your responsibility to watch over her. If one of them does happen to show up, you need to get her out of there immediately and we'll switch to plan B. Luck favors the prepared, that's why we always have a plan B."

Miles was the type of person to calculate every step and have multiple back up plans if he deemed it necessary. He felt good about the plan overall but there is always a chance something could go wrong. Miles considered himself a clever man but not everything goes according to plan. Some things just can't be predicted and on the rare occasions there was human error on his part. The situation with Tifa's memory loss was a perfect example. Miles knew for certain that the chip activated the poison but what he still couldn't figure out was why it didn't kill her. He hypothesized that when it was activated the chemicals failed to spread throughout her nervous system and was confined to the part of her brain only affecting her memory. But even if the premise was correct, and it was a stretch, Miles still do not know why the poison didn't kill her as soon as it was released. He assumed it was due to her superior strength and rapid healing abilities which caused her body to overcome the toxins. Still, he was gratefully for the mistake. When he implanted the chip, he only did so to control her since that's what the Restrictors used to control Weiss. Miles thought he could do the same with Tifa, but his design turned out to be just as flawed as the one the Restrictors used.

Miles walked back over to the machine and activated it. The lights in the shop dimmed before the machine rumbled causing the ground under the shed to shake. The rumble intensified as steam started to shoot out the top of the device. A few seconds later, the machine stopped, and a blue orb rolled out the side.

Miles smiled at the sight of the materia. He walked over and picked it up to inspect it. He had been working on this little project for many years now and was delighted to finally see the fruits of his labor.


	22. Chapter 22

As soon as Yuffie heard about the prison escape at the Junon Detention Center, she tried to call Reeve but there was no answer. She assumed he was busy dealing with the incident, but after a day of not hearing from him, she knew something was wrong. Going this long without returning her calls was unlike Reeve and she was starting to get a bad feeling. The very next morning, she rushed to the Junon Headquarters and went directly to his office to find him, but the door was locked.

She unclipped her ID card and slid it through the door crack trying to find the latch. She heard a click and the door opened. She was hoping there was something in his office that could give her some clues as to his whereabouts. His office looked as pristine as usual with nothing appearing out of the ordinary. She tried thinking about what to do next.

That's when Yuffie noticed the security monitor behind Reeve's desk. The security cameras would be able to tell her the last time he was in the building. She walked across the room and rolled his chair over to the monitor and stared typing on the keyboard. She was surprised to discover that all the cameras were deactivated, and a dreadful feeling started to come over her.

Yuffie proceeded to rewind to Wednesday night when she was talking with Reeve in his office. Luckily, the cameras were working at that time and she could see herself leaving. On the top right screen was a view of the camera overlooking the entrance to the main security office. Thirteen minutes after she exited the building, she witnessed a peacekeeper walk into the control room, and less than a minute later all the screens went black. Yuffie immediately knew something happened to Reeve that night, confirming that awful feeling that had been growing in the pit of her stomach.

*****

It was early morning when Tifa, Genesis, Weiss, James, Alex, and Katerina exited the house towards the shuttle leaving Miles and Chloe alone at the kitchen table.

"So, what are we going to do today?" Miles asked the young girl.

Miles picked up the girl's dishes and put them in the sink before turning back towards her.

"Want to see daddy's workshop?" he asked the child who responded with a big smile.

The young girl suddenly became excited and raised her arms signaling for him to pick her up. He then proceeded to pick up the young girl up and exit through the back door.

*****

It was mid-morning when the Shera touched down near Mideel. Cloud, Nanakin, and Cid disembarked the airship and entered the thick jungle. The two men followed the feline creature who seemed to know exactly where he was going. After about twenty minutes of walking, they reached a clearing with a small two-story house sitting in the middle of the opening. The three stopped and looked around before continuing towards the house.

"This place looks abandoned," Cid said, noticing that there were no people around and the outside of the house was unkempt. All the window blinds were closed so they could not look in. "Should we knock at the front door?" he asked his friends.

No one objected as the captain walked up and rang the doorbell. Seconds passed as they waited, but no one came to the door.

"Should we go in and look around?" Cid asked the others.

"That never stopped us before," Nanakin commented.

Cloud reached out and checked the door only to find it unlocked. They entered the house but paused to make sure nobody was home.

"Hello, anyone home?" Cid called out, but no response.

They all looked around. Straight ahead of them was a staircase leading upstairs. To the right was what looked like a living room and to the left was a short hallway leading towards the kitchen.

"Cid you go look upstairs while we check the rest of the house," Cloud suggested.

Cid nodded and headed up the stairs. Nanakin checked the living room sniffing around while Cloud walked towards the kitchen. As he walked through the kitchen, he noticed another doorway on the far said of the leading to a porch area, back door and a staircase into the basement.

Cloud walked towards the staircase and continued down, the door at the bottom was closed. He walked down and turned the knob, but it was locked. He debated if he should force the door open, but this seemed like a nice family home and not the kind of place you would expect fugitives to live in. The last thing he wanted to do was break down the family's door. He was about to go back up the stairs when he heard a noise coming through the door. He walked closer to the door and placed his ear next to it.

"Hello?" he called out. He was sure he heard the faint sound of someone calling out from inside the room.

Cloud was not going to take any chances, so he kicked the door open. When he entered, he was surprised to see Reeve sitting in a cell on the other side of the room. Reeve was propped up against the wall barely able to keep himself up. His face was bloody and bruised and his shirt had blood all over it. Reeve looked up with a faint smile when he noticed Cloud.

Cloud rushed over and broke the cell padlock lock with his sword. He opened the door and went in the cell to help his injured friend up.

"What happened?" Cloud asked the commissioner as he put his arm around Reeve's shoulder for support.

"Miles and the others," Reeve struggled to say. He was severely dehydrated and in a lot of pain. "We need to get to Edge," he warned.

"What about Tifa? Do they have her? Is she okay?" Cloud asked his friend franticly as they slowly made their way towards the stairs.

Reeve nodded. He was barely able to move with Cloud doing most of the work. A trail of blood from Reeve's face was dripping as they walked. Cloud knew he had to get Reeve onboard the airship and to Edge as soon as possible. Cloud helped his friend up the stairs and through the kitchen just when Cid was walking down the stairs from the bedrooms. Cid and Nanakin were shocked to see Cloud with an injured Reeve. Cid walked over to Reeve to assist him through the front door with Nanakin leading the way back to the airship.

After twenty minutes of walking through the forest they came across the Shrea and boarded. Cloud and Nanakin helped Reeve down to the lounge while Cid went to the bridge to prepare for takeoff. Cloud laid Reeve down on the sofa and used a cure materia on the semiconscious man.

"Reeve, do you know what they are planning?" Cloud asked his friend, kneeling next to him.

Reeve was not fully awake yet and was mumbling incoherently. The swelling was gone but his face was full of dried blood. Cloud stood up and walked over to the bar, gabbing a bottle of water for his friend. He opened it and tried to give him some. Tasting the water on his lips, Reeve lifted his head and started drinking it rapidly but then coughed from consuming it too fast. He then laid his head back down with his eyes closed tight in obvious pain.

Cloud and Nanakin waited until he gained his composure. Fifteen minutes later, Reeve slowly opened his eyes and looked over at Cloud.

"I need your phone," Reeve told Cloud who turned his phone on and handed it over.

Reeve slowly sat up on the sofa while holding his head with one hand and the phone in the other. He then proceeded to call the deputy commissioner of the Edge Headquarters to warn him about Miles and the others. As soon as he ended the call the phone beeped singling a voicemail message.

"You have a message," Reeve said, handing Cloud the phone.

"Why are they targeting the headquarters in Edge?" Cloud asked Reeve as he put the phone up to his ear and listened to the message.

Reeve paused for a second before answering. He was leaning forward with his hands on his head resting his elbows on his knees. It looked like he was in a lot of pain.

"They are after files containing top secret information," Reeve explained to them.

Cloud finished listening to the message and closed his phone before handing it back to Reeve.

"Yuffie is looking for you," Cloud informed his friend. "What about Tifa?" he asked, eager for more information. Cloud was relieved to hear that she was okay, but he wanted to find her as soon as possible.

"She's fine," Reeve assured his friend. He was about to put the phone to his ear when he paused for a few seconds and let out a sigh before continuing. "Cloud, there's something you should know..."

*****

In her search for Reeve, Yuffie tried calling everyone she could think of. She left messages with all their friends but the only two she could reach were Vincent who was in Kalm and Barret in Corel. She told them about Reeve and what she saw on the camera.

Barret told her he was stuck in Corel until he could find a ride to Junon. Normally, the fastest way to get around was to call Cid but he was not answering his phone. Barret was left trying to find alternative arrangements which could take hours.

Vincent, on the other hand, had his own means of transportation and said he would be there in an hour. Yuffie told him she would wait at the headquarters until he arrived. While she was waiting, she decided to do some more sleuthing.

Yuffie made her way to the security control room to check where she witnessed that peacekeeper turn off the security cameras. She exited Reeve's office and headed towards the stairwell. The security room was located one floor below, so it would be faster for her to take the stairs.

She went straight through the emergency exit and down the staircase to the floor below. As she walked down the hallway, she spotted few people who were just arriving to work and greeted them as they passed. She made her way down the hall towards the security room only to discover that the room was locked. Using her keycard, she tried to unlock the door like she did Reeve's office, but this one had a deadbolt and wouldn't open.

"Gotta bust out the big guns," Yuffie said to herself as she pulled two pins out of her hair and started picking the lock. As she picked the lock a female employee walked by giving her a strange look.

After a few seconds, she picked the lock and opened the door. She walked in to see the body of a security guard lying dead near the controls. She inspected the body and discovered ligature marks around his neck suggesting strangulation. She assumed the killer was the man she saw on the security camera dressed as a peacekeeper. All the security monitors in the room were deactivated showing only black and blue screens. She reached over the body, making sure not to touch it, to turn the cameras back on.

With all the cameras up and running, Yuffie looked around and everything seemed normal. Even though they were short staffed, there were still many people working in the building. Then, out of the corner of her eye, she looked down at the bottom screen and noticed a group of five peacekeepers walking through a hallway on the third floor. The third floor was one of the busiest, and it was not uncommon for peacekeepers to be wondering around the building. But as she watched them, she noticed they would stop at all the occupied offices and look in. In most cases they would continue walking after looking in at the person working. Then Yuffie spotted the peacekeepers stop at an office with a man working at his desk. Upon seeing the peacekeepers, the man stood up and pulled out a gun from his desk drawer. The man exited the office, walked past the peacekeepers and towards the elevator. Then the peacekeepers stopped at the last office in the hallway and one of them walked in. Yuffie could not see what happened inside the office from the angle of the camera, but a few seconds later the peacekeeper walked out with a gun in his hand.

On another screen she witnessed the man she saw from the third-floor walking out of the elevator on top floor. He then stopped at Reeve's office and entered to check for anyone before walking out. After checking to make sure no one else was on that floor, the man walked back towards the elevator.

Yuffie was so captivated with what was happening on the screens it startled her when her phone rang. She looked at her phone to see it was Cloud calling.

"Cloud!" she exclaimed into her phone. Then she realized it was not Cloud. "Reeve! What happened to you? I was so worried."

Yuffie listed as Reeve update her on how he was captured by men dressed as peacekeepers.

"I think they are in the building right now," Yuffie explained to him. "I'm in the security room and there is some weird stuff going on. I think they killed someone. You need to get here fast!"

Reeve assured her that he would be there as soon as possible. Reeve directed her to keep him posted on everything before he ended the call.

As Yuffie looked back down at the security monitors, she knew something was wrong and she had to figure out what without being discovered. She quickly exited the security room and ran towards the stairs. She walked into the stairwell and could hear voices below. She looked down and spotted people walking up the stairs towards her. Fearing it was the enemy approaching, she quickly ascended the stairs leading to the top floor.

*****

Inside the shed, Miles was busy making materia. Nearby, Chloe was sitting on the floor playing with the round orbs like they were big marbles.

"It won't be long before you're able to use materia the proper way," Miles informed the young girl as she held a yellow orb in her hands.

Chloe just looked up at him and smiled in response before turning her attention back to the materia.

As Miles looked down at the girl, he couldn't help but be reminded of himself as a youth. He had always had a fascination with materia ever since he was a young child. Growing up near Mideel, where lifestream surges were a common occurrence, he was aware of its dangers but understood that it was also the giver of life. He always like materia because it allowed one to harness the power of the lifestream, giving the weakest person god like powers.

It was this interest as a child that influenced Miles in his studies. He had been a collector of materia since childhood and was upset that his precious huge materia was destroyed when the Turks blew up his airship. They were supposed to be the crown jewels of his collection. It was never his intension to use the huge materia to power a bomb. That was just a part of the wild goose chase he sent everyone on to buy them some time. He spent months trying to drop hints about his fake plans for the huge materia, he even went as far as murdering the two people in Edge, just so Reeve could connect the dots later. The only bomb he intended to detonate was in Healen which the real Genesis was unaware of. He knew Genesis would not have agreed to the destruction of a town with a hospital. Luckily for Genesis, that plan was foiled by the Turks.

Still, if that was the worst thing to go wrong with his plan so far, he should consider himself lucky. Overall, Miles was rather happy at how everything turned out, although there were a few close calls, especially with the incident at Fort Condor. It was apparent to Miles that lady luck was on his side and he couldn't help but feel that everything leading up to this point was destiny, if one believed in such things. Or maybe it was just the universe finally making things right for him after losing so much.

Miles struggled after he was fired from Shinra, he went searching for employment in other towns but not many people were hiring, especially when a big meteor was plummeting towards the planet. That's when he decided to return to the family home near Mideel, he had inherited years earlier but never thought he would return. It was there he spent most of his days trying to develop his own materia making machine like the one he operated in Midgar. Unfortunately, parts were hard to come by being in the middle of the jungle, so he didn't get very far. By then, Mideel had been destroyed by a huge lifestream surge so he spent years searching through the ruins looking for anything of value and collecting mako samples. It was there he ran into Genesis and an injured Weiss. Recognizing Genesis, Miles decided to help him and suggested they take Weiss to the Shinra Manor, since Miles worked there previously and was familiar with the laboratory. By the time they reached Nibelhiem they already had a plan formulated. In Nibelhiem Miles was surprised to see that many of the actors that were hired by Shinra years ago were still residing in the town. Miles and Genesis decided to use them as 'volunteers' for the first wave of minions. Genesis overpowered them, took them up to the Mt. Nibel reactor and showed Miles how to make copies. Once they were ready, they were given their orders and Miles went to apply for a position with the WRO while Genesis went searching through the Midgar ruins.

When Miles was not working on assignments for the WRO, he was researching how to help Weiss using information provided by Genesis. The rest of the time he spent perfecting Genesis' technique for making copies. Then, Genesis found the three Deepground SOLDIERs in the ruins and Miles agreed to help them. By that time, he knew he needed Shelke to save Weiss and they had to put their main objective on hold to help Weiss and the SOLDIERs. But Miles needed to develop a completely new plan once he got wind of the reactor demolition project knowing the Mt. Nibel reactor was on the chopping block. Luckily, by then he had already managed to utilize the Genesis copies to help him make dozens more in the Corel and Mt. Nibel reactor laboratories. Once they secured the WRO airship it was much easier for them to transport potential monster and human copies. Their army had grown so much they had to set up a new shop in the old mako excavation facility up north. Miles was so delighted when he discovered Cloud was asked to help with the reactor project. It was his chance to get his revenge and he worked it into his plan at the same time.

The only time he feared being caught was with the Fort Condor reactor. That was his fault for trying to put too much on one plate. Although it wasn't part of their plan, Miles wanted the reactor parts of his materia making machine and directed the copies to use the parts from the Fort Condor reactor. Unlike most of his plans, he left this to the last minute and the night before it was scheduled to be demolished the copies went in to gather the equipment. Unexpectedly, the copies came across raiders in the fort but were able to dispose of the bodies without getting caught. It seemed like luck was on their side that night too, so many things that could have gone wrong didn't. Had the Turks decided to inspect the reactor that night the copies might have been discovered. Had the Turks spotted their stolen airship concealed nearby, or if one of the raiders managed to escape, a year of work could have gone down the drain. Walking through the Fort Condor reactor with Vincent was the most nervous he had been throughout the whole ordeal and he feared that Vincent might have sensed it.

Realizing he spaced out, Miles looked over to check on Chloe who was still happily playing with the materia. She glanced up at Miles when she noticed him staring at her and smiled in response.

Milees smiled back and continued recalibrating the pressure gauge. He couldn't help but think how funny life was. The one thing that was not part of his original plan, Chloe, was the best thing to come out of all this. If only Hojo could see him now. When he was younger, he wanted nothing more than to work with the scientist, but years later he was now improving on Hojo's experiments. Having Chloe under his control, he was going to mold her into the perfect SOLDIER, stronger than any of the Jenova projects. Miles smiled, it just goes to show you can't plan life no matter how hard you try.

Suddenly, Miles' thinking was interrupted by the sound of the phone ringing on his workbench. He walked over and answered it. There was moment of silence as Miles attentively listened to Genesis on the other end.

"What!?" Miles demanded furiously.

Hearing the anger in his voice, Chloe stopped playing and looked up at him worried.

Miles then proceeded to fetch the young girl while using his shoulder to hold the phone to his ear as hurried into the house.

*****

Genesis, Tifa, and the others were twenty minutes outside Edge. They were all sitting on bench seats facing each other with Weiss and James sitting on one side and Tifa and Genesis on the other. Alex was up front piloting the airship and Katerina in the co-pilot seat.

Genesis had just received a phone call, everyone was silent as Genesis listened to the caller before hanging up. Everyone could tell by the expression on his face that is was not good news.

"What is it?" Weiss asked.

"Reeve called his security to warn them of our arrival," Genesis informed them as he dialed Miles' number to let him know.

"What? Does that mean he escaped?" James asked.

"I don't think he called from inside his prison cell, so yes, he escaped," Weiss explained to the blond, sounding frustrated with the news. “I knew I should have finished him last night.”

"How the hell did he get out?" Alex called back to the group. Him and Katerina were able to overhear the conversation from the cockpit.

"Are they okay?" Tifa quietly asked Genesis.

The winged man turned to look at her and nodded in affirmation with the phone still to his ear. He continued talking on the phone for another minute before hanging up and turning back to Tifa.

"They were in the shed working when someone broke in and freed the prisoner," Genesis explained.

"So, do we stick to the plan?" James asked

"Assuming he is travelling by airship we probably have an hour lead at least," Genesis explained to the group, then turned to Tifa. “Will an hour be enough?"

Tifa nodded confidently.

"What about security?" Katerina asked, looking back at the group from the cockpit. "Don't they know she's coming?"

"That won't be a problem," Genesis assured her. The only likely glitch he could foresee is if Reeve or one of his friends spotted her before she could complete the task. But he knew it would be an even bigger problem if Cloud showed up.

*****

Reeve had just gotten off the phone with Yuffie. He had updated Cloud on Tifa's situation before making the call and Cloud was not taking the news well.

"There is no why she is helping them," Cloud informed Reeve as he took back his phone. "They must be manipulating her somehow."

Reeve's news obviously upset him. They were still forty minutes outside Edge and Cloud was getting restless. After what Reeve told him, Cloud was anxious to find Tifa as soon as possible. He was pacing back and forward in the small room while Reeve sat on the sofa leaning forward still in pain. Nankin was sitting near the sofa listening to the conversation.

"Cloud, she didn't even recognize me," Reeve explained. "Miles said that she is suffering from amnesia."

Cloud didn't want to believe Reeve, and hearing his friend mention the scientist's name angered him more. He was certain Miles must have done something to her, he was a crazy scientist after all. There was no way she would forget her friends, especially him, not after everything they been through. That's when Cloud remembered Tifa's pregnancy.

Cloud suddenly stopped pacing and looked at Reeve. "Did Tifa look different in any way?" he asked his friend.

She had been missing for eight months now. Cloud never found out how far along she was, so either she was still very much pregnant and due soon, or she was no longer pregnant which could mean one of two things.

Reeve looked up at Cloud and paused before answering. "No, why?" he asked.

"Just wondering," Cloud replied, sounding a little disappointed. He sat down in a chair across from Reeve looking deep in thought.

When they were in the house earlier there was no sign of a baby living there, which most likely meant that their child didn't make it to term. After everything Tifa had been through, he was not surprised, but it still upset him. He wished he could have been there for her when it happened. One of the things that motivated him to not give up searching was the thought of seeing Tifa and his child along with the hope of being together as a family.

They all sat in silence until Cid's voice came across the intercom. "We'll be there in fifteen minutes. Get ready."

Hearing that, Cloud started to get restless again and was about to exit before being stopped by Reeve.

"Cloud," Reeve told his friend. "I'll send backup as soon as possible."

Cloud nodded, then exited the room towards Fenrir.

  



	23. Chapter 23

Genesis exited the airship just before it reached the airfield. Being able to fly, he thought it was best to keep a bird's eye view, especially with the added risk of their enemies showing up at any moment. Even though they were using a stolen WRO shuttlecraft, they figured the airfield was still the best place for the aircraft to blend in.

Upon arrival, Tifa departed and proceeded into the city while Weiss, Alex, Katerina, and James stayed onboard the aircraft keeping an eye out for Reeve and the others. Having been stuck in the hot aircraft for the last fifteen minutes with the chattery trio, Weiss was just starting to enjoy a moment of silence when one of them started yakking again.

"What do we do if we spot them? Attack?" James asked while looking out the aircraft's starboard side window.

"No, first we warn Genesis, then we attack," Katerina corrected as she looked out the port side window, opposite to James.

"Weiss, I hope you know what these people look like," Alex called from the captain's seat where he was observing from the front of the aircraft.

"Don't you remember?" Katerina asked, turning away from the window and looking towards Alex in the cockpit. "They're the people we fought on Mt. Nibel."

Alex laughed. "Yeah, how can I forget getting my ass kicked by an airship," he commented, sitting back in his chair and hanging his feet over the armrest. "That's my kind of ship. Why can't we have an airship like that Weiss? This one's a small piece of crap."

Katerina grinned at Alex's comment.

"Who's the one Genesis is worried about showing up?" James asked, still looking out the window.

"Cloud," Weiss said flatly, gazing out the window next to Katerina. He was starting to get annoyed with all the talking going on around him. These three idiots never seem to shut up.

"Was he the big guy with the gun arm?" Alex asked, trying to remember.

"I don't think so," Katerina corrected him. "I think he was the cutie with the big sword."

Alex leaned over his seat and looked towards the back of the airship. He frowned at Katerina. "You think he's cute?" he asked her, looking a little hurt.

Before Katerina could answer, James interrupted. He was looking out the window when he noticed something approaching them at a rapid speed.

"Does Cloud have blond spiky hair and ride a motorcycle?" the big man asked.

"Yes. Why?" Weiss replied, turning to look at James.

"Well, I think he just drove past us," James commented.

Before any of them could react, Cloud had already passed them and was almost at the city's edge. Weiss sighed and pulled out his phone to warn Genesis.

*****

When Tifa walked into the big city she didn't recognize anything. She knew she had been in Edge before because Miles told her she had. She was hoping being back would trigger some memories, but nothing.

The city was big, dirty, noisy and crowded; much different from where she had been living the last eight months. She followed the directions towards the WRO headquarters which was not hard to find being one of the tallest and biggest buildings in the city.

Tifa walked through the front entrance and surveyed the lobby. To the right of her was a little café with some tables and chairs out front. The shop had three people in it getting their mid-morning coffee and snacks, but other than that, the lobby was relatively empty. To the left was a lounge area where people could take a break or wait. Towards the back of the lobby was a glass door leading into the rest of the building. Next to the door was a security desk and a guard. Tifa watched as an employee left the café and walked past the security guard, swiping their ID card next to the desk before entering. Tifa had Reeve's ID card in her pocket which she hoped still worked.

Taking a deep breath, she started to walk towards the security guard sitting at the desk. He was an older man with gray hair and beard. As she past him, she was about to pull out Reeve's card when the guard stopped her.

"Miss Lockhart," the guard called out to her.

Tifa turned to look at him with a smile. Her hand was still in her pocket holding the card.

"You forgot to sign in," the man said as he reached over and handed her a clipboard. On it was a piece of paper with the title 'Guest Sign In'.

"Sorry, I forgot," she said, forcing a nervous laugh. She proceeded to pick up the pen attached to the clipboard and printed her name, then signed it. The last column was titled 'Picture ID'.

Tifa looked up at the man. "I forgot my ID,' she informed him sheepishly.

The man looked at her for a second, then smiled while reaching for the clipboard.

"You and Mr. Strife never have picture ID," he informed her while handing her a clip badge with a big 'V' on it. "Do you want me to call someone to let them know you're here?" the guard offered.

Not recognizing the last name Strife, Tifa didn't give it much thought. "No, that's fine. They already know I'm here," she replied and swiped her visitor pass. "Have a nice day," she said to the man before entering and walking down the hallway.

It didn't take long for her to reach the elevators. The first twenty floors could be accessed by just pressing the buttons, but all the upper floors required an ID card for access. Tifa took out Reeve's card and swiped it before pressing the button for the top floor.

The only two offices on the top floor belonged to Reeve and the deputy commissioner. When the elevator door opened, Tifa looked out and was relieved to see that the hallway was deserted. She walked down and turned the corner to where Reeve's office was located. His door was locked with a keypad that required a five-digit code. Tifa pulled a piece of paper from her pocket and proceeded to input the code that was written on the paper. The device beeped, and she heard a  _click_.

She entered the office and quickly shut the door behind her. The office was spacious but simple with a desk, a couch, a few chairs and a big window overlooking the city. She walked over to the desk in the middle of the room and turned on the computer. She checked the piece of paper for the login name and password. The login name was 'Rtuesti'. She looked again at the password. Weiss had terrible writing, but she was sure he wrote 'CaitSith#1' as the password. Not knowing what a Cait Sith was, she thought she was reading it wrong, but to her surprise, it worked.

Tifa was looking through the various programs when she heard what sounded like a door shutting coming from down the hallway followed by footsteps. She stopped to listen, but luckily it sounded like the footsteps were walking away from her. She was relieved when she heard the 'ding' of the elevator meaning whoever it was, they were leaving.

"Now it's time for the hard part," Tifa said to herself while continuing her search for the files.

*****

"So, what did he say?" Alex asked Weiss as soon as he was off the phone with Genesis.

"He is going to call in plan B," Weiss informed the three.

"That's going to take too long," James told Weiss. "We got an airship. Let's just land on the roof and go in and get her."

"He told us to stay here," Weiss informed him.

"Since when do you listen to anyone?" Katerina commented to Weiss with her arms crossed. "That's not the Weiss the Immaculate I've heard so much about."

"Why does it matter what we do?" Alex tried to convince him. "Now that we're switching to plan B, we don't need to be secretive anymore. Let's go in guns blazing!" He was sick of being stuck in the small airship.

"You make a good argument," Weiss agreed, prompting Axel to jump back into the pilot's chair.

.*****

Cloud raced through the city and parked directly in front of the WRO building. When he entered the lobby, nothing looked out of the ordinary. He wondered if he beat them here.

Waiting next to the security desk was the deputy commissioner, Colin McClure. He was wearing a dark blue suit and had short light brown hair and green eyes. Upon seeing him, Cloud walked over to Colin for an update.

"I've notified our head of security and they've dispatched extra peacekeepers to patrol the area," Colin said as he looked around. "Our security chief said he would meet us here, he must be running late."

Cloud had met Colin a few times before during Cloud's many visits to the headquarters. Although Cloud didn't technically work for the WRO, he did visit often to drop off packages for his delivery service.

"Does Reeve know what they are after exactly?" Colin said quietly, so nobody could overhear.

"He just said they were after top secret information," Cloud informed Colin as he took the clipboard off the security desk to sign in as he always does. That's when he spotted Tifa's name on the register. He looked at the security guard in shock.

"Tom, is Tifa here?" he asked the guard.

The old man looked at Cloud and nodded. "She signed in almost thirty minutes ago," he informed Cloud while handing him his visitor pass.

Cloud looked at Colin. "Where would you go to access the files?" Cloud asked the Deputy Commissioner.

"The only two locations are mine and Reeve's office," Colin replied as Cloud followed him towards the elevators.

Once in the elevator, Colin used his keycard to reach the top floor. When they reached the top, Colin walked out with Cloud following.

"His office is at the end of the hall," Colin said just as three peacekeepers turned the corner in front of them. Colin stopped in his tracks. "I thought I said to meet me in the lobby," Colin told the man standing at the head of the group.

That's when Cloud noticed a gun in the man's hand. As the man raised the gun, Cloud reached for Colin to get him out of the way, but it was too late, and Colin was hit. Immediately, all the peacekeepers opened fire just as the elevator door was about to close. Cloud took the opportunity to take cover in the elevator while dragging the injured man with him. He took Colin's keycard from his hand and swiped it before pressing the button for the next floor down.

As soon as the elevators closed, Cloud looked down at Colin who was lying on the floor holding his chest wound. Cloud kneeled next to him trying to help him put pressure on the injury. He was losing a lot of blood quickly. The injured man looked up at Cloud.

"You need my card to...staircase," Colin struggled to say.

The keycard Cloud was holding in his hand was now covered in blood. By the time the elevator reached the next floor, Colin was dead.

When the door opened, Cloud peeked out to make sure the coast was clear. He exited the elevator and walked down the hallway looking for the emergency exit. He continued down the hall until he came across a door with an exit sign above it. He pushed the door open and entered the stairwell. He took a second to listen for anyone, but it appeared to be empty. With coast clear, he then proceeded to walk up towards the top floor.

*****

The instructions given to Tifa were long and complicated but the more she worked on it the easier it became. Tifa was almost finished locating the digital files when she heard multiple footsteps walk past Reeve's office. She heard the  _ding_  of the elevator then someone's voice followed by the sound of gunfire.

She knew she had to hurry before she was found out. Once she was finished, she put the USB stick into the computer and started to download the files. After a few seconds she was startled by the sound of her phone ringing, it was Genesis calling.

"Hello," she answered.

"Tifa," she heard Genesis say on the other end. "Do you have the files?"

"I'm saving them now," she informed him.

"We have enemies making their way towards you," Genesis' voice explained. "It's too dangerous to go back down. I have sent some renegades to help you reach the rooftop. I'm on my way."

Tifa put her phone back in her pocket and looked at the computer. The download was seventy-six percent complete. By now the gunfire had stopped and Tifa listened for any sign of activity outside, there was silence. Tifa looked back at the computer and the download was complete. She checked the drive to make sure it was saved then removed the memory card before putting it back in her pocket.

Tifa stood up from the desk and walked over to the door. She opened it and looked out to find two peacekeepers standing out front with their backs to her. They turned when they heard her walk out.

"This way," one of the peacekeepers informed her before he started to walk towards the emergency exit.

Tifa followed them down the hallway, through the exit, and up the stairs towards the rooftop.

*****

Cloud had entered the stairwell just as Tifa and the two men reached the rooftop exit. He ran up the stairs to the top floor and was about to swipe the card to enter when he heard the door shut above him. He decided to follow the sound and continued up the stairs towards the rooftop exit.

When Cloud walked through the door, he saw Tifa standing on the rooftop. Behind her were two of peacekeepers that shot Collin. They all had their backs turned to him and Cloud assumed they were going to attack Tifa next. He charged at them with his sword raised. He was so focused on getting to Tifa, he slayed the guards before they even realized he was there.

As soon as the men dropped to the ground, Cloud stopped to look at Tifa who was now facing him. He was so relieved to see her as wave of emotions passed through him. It felt like years since he last laid eyes on her and she was even more beautiful then he remembered. She just stood there staring at him blankly; no smile, no gin, nothing.

"Tifa," Cloud said, taking a step towards her.

Tifa glared at him and raised her fists in self-defence.

Cloud was hurt by this. He didn't want to believe it, but she really didn't recognize him. "Don't you remember me?" he asked her.

"No, Should I?" she asked crossly.

Before Cloud could answer, an airship approached them and hovered above while James, Katerina, and Weiss jumped out onto the rooftop behind Tifa. Cloud raised his sword at the sight of his enemies. They were about to attack when Tifa raised her arm up, signaling for them to stop.

"I got this," Tifa informed them, then instantly rushed Cloud. She tried to deliver a roundhouse kick, but Cloud jumped back avoiding the attack.

"Tifa, I can't fight you," Cloud said, but she continued to charge at him.

Cloud could never raise his sword against the woman he loved, so he put it away. He had no choice but to try to block and dodge her attacks without his weapon. He knew she was more skilled in unarmed combat, so this was not going to be easy.

*****

When Yuffie reached the top floor of the stairwell, she looked out into the hallway to make sure the coast was clear before entering. There was no one around so she quickly made her way back to Reeve's office. She knew he kept a gun in there somewhere.

She walked over to his desk and looked through the drawers trying to locate the weapon. The bottom drawer was locked so she used her bobby pin to open it. Inside was a bottle of sake, a glass, and a handgun. She grabbed the gun and was about to shut the drawer when she took a second look at the bottle of liquor. Shrugging, she grabbed the bottle and took a swig before placing it back in the drawer.

She then looked over at the desk behind her with the security monitor to get a sense at what was happing. By now almost all the floors had peacekeepers and administrative staff walking down the corridors holding weapons. Some of the lower floors had a few staff lying dead in the hallways or in their offices. She switched the cameras, in the cafeteria she noticed a group of around fifteen people kneeling with their hands on their heads surrounded by five peacekeepers with guns. It was obvious they were hostages. Yuffie knew she had to find a way to help them.

Then her phone vibrated. It was a text message from Vincent telling her he was in Junon but the front entrance to the building was locked. She figured they locked the entrance to keep people from entering and exiting. Looking at the security screen she could see the ground floor was heavily armed with assailants. She texted Vincent back and told him to fly up to Reeve's office balcony. Then she walked over and unlocked the balcony door. A few minutes later, Chaos landed and changed back before entering.

"What's going on?" Vincent asked her.

"The place is being overrun," Yuffie explained to him. "They have hostages in the cafeteria."

"Who's doing this," he asked.

"I donno, they are all employees." She recognized most of the assailants as people who had been working with the WRO for years. "The cafeteria is on the third floor directly under us," she explained to him.

Yuffie walked over to the security monitor to show Vincent. Almost every floor had people patrolling the hallways with the third and ground floors heavily occupied. Not only were there five assailants inside the cafeteria, there were two people standing outside the door and multiple people patrolling the surrounding hallway. Surprisingly, there was no one patrolling their floor. Yuffie assumed this was because the assailants did not find anyone when they inspected it earlier.

Suddenly, Yuffie's phone started to vibrate. She looked, and it was Cid calling.

"Cid," she answered, then paused for a second. "Reeve, where are you? The building is completely overrun, and they have hostages in the cafeteria. Vincent's with me." She paused again, listing to Reeve speak. "Okay," she said before hanging up, then looked over at Vincent. "They're twenty minutes away," she informed the ex-Turk. "We should go help the hostages before they get here. There're only five guys in there. How about I sneak in while you cover me from the outside?"

"Do you really think that's a good idea?" Vincent asked.

"What? You don't think I can sneak down there undetected?" Yuffie asked. She was a little insulted that he was questing her ninja skills.

Vincent looked at Yuffie in her formal attire. "It's not that," Vincent started to explain, but stopped his objection. "Never mind…”

They agreed on a strategy and Yuffie took one last look at the security monitor to get a good idea on how she was going to proceed. Once she formulated a plan, Yuffie exited the office towards the stairwell. Vincent transformed and exited via the balcony.

Yuffie silently made her way down the stairs making sure to listen for anyone approaching. As she walked, she discovered it was hard to be completely silent in heels, so she ditched them in the stairwell and continued barefoot.

When she reached the third floor, she slowly opened the door a crack and peeked out. A peacekeeper had just walked away and turned the corner out of sight, meaning the coast was clear. She entered the hallway and walked three doors down making sure to count the doors. She entered the fourth office and quietly shut the door behind her.

Inside the office the body of a man was lying next to the door and Yuffie inadvertently stepped into the pool of blood next to it. She was instantly grossed out but forced herself not to make a sound. She walked across the room and jumped up onto the desk by the wall.

Making sure the safety was on, she tucked the gun into the waistband of her skirt. Then, on her tiptoes, she managed to remove the air vent cover from the wall and proceeded to crawl up into the vent. On the desk, a piece of paper had stuck to her blood covered foot and she attempted to kick it off trying to make as little noise as possible. Since it was a tight squeeze in the vent, she couldn't reach back to remove the paper but after a few kicks it finally fell off.

She started to slowly crawl through the vent but did not realize how dirty and dusty it was up there being such as old building. As she crawled, she could feel the dirt and grime sticking to every part of her. She also realized how difficult it was to maneuver in such a tight skirt. To make matters worse, her clothes was repeatedly catching on the tips of the screws sticking into the vent causing little rips as she crawled.

After a few minutes of crawling, she finally reached the cafeteria. There was an opening in the vent where she could look down through the vent cover under her to see where exactly she was and what was going on. Luckily, she was directly above three of the assailants who were standing next to the hostages talking to each other. She could not locate the other two assailants from her position.

Yuffie reached for the gun and flicked off the safety. Suddenly, she felt the metal under her shift abruptly. She was about to slowly back up when the vent suddenly split opened under her. She crashed down through the ceiling tile on top of two of the assailants breaking her fall.

Everyone in the room was shocked to see a very messy looking girl fall from the ceiling. As soon as Yuffie landed on the two men in a sitting position, she immediately aimed her gun at the third man shooting him in the head dead before he had a chance to react. A few feet away from her the other two men were about to open fire when the window to the cafeteria was shattered by gunfire and two of the men dropped to the floor dead. One of the men Yuffie was sitting on was about to reach for his nearby weapon when she pointed her gun at his face, directing him not to move.

Chaos came flying into the room and two of the female hostages let out a cry at the sight of the monster. Vincent transformed back and walked over to Yuffie pointing his gun at the two assailants as she got up off them. One was unconscious and the other put his hands up in the air surrendering.

Yuffie immediately ran across the room and locked the door before anyone outside realized what was going on, but it was too late. As soon as she locked, it someone from the outside started banging on the door trying to get in.

"We need to find a way out of here," Yuffie told Vincent.

She reached into her skirt pocket for her phone to call Cid. Yuffie was just about to make the call when they heard the airship outside followed by a rope ladder flying down in front of the big window.

"Right on time," Yuffie said, then directed the hostages towards the window.


	24. Chapter 24

The battle between Cloud and Tifa was starting to take its toll on Cloud, but Tifa appeared unfazed. She was unrelenting in her attacks, and he could tell she was not holding anything back. Cloud was finding it increasingly difficult to block her blows and not retaliating was leaving him vulnerable. So far, she was able to land a few good kicks and punches leaving Cloud sore and debilitated. Especially after she landed her final heaven punch, he knew he was going to feel that for days to come. He was so focused on blocking her attacks, he couldn't even get a chance to say anything to her.

Meanwhile, James, Weiss, and Katerina were standing on the sidelines watching the battle between the two. By now Alex had landed the airship on the rooftop to join his comrades.

"Aren't we here to help her?" Alex asked as soon as he approached the group.

"I don't think she needs any help," James commented, watching the sexy girl kick some ass. “I’m not in any hurry to break up the fight, I could watch this all day.”

"Won't Genesis be pissed if he sees this?" Katerina asked Weiss, looking over at him. "He specifically said he didn't want them running into each other."

Before Weiss could respond, Genesis flew down onto the rooftop next to his comrades. Upon seeing him, Tifa stopped fighting and looked over at him. Cloud took the opportunity to quickly catch his breath.

"Tifa," Genesis called, prompting Tifa to approach him. "It's time to go. Do you have the files?"

Tifa handed Genesis the memory card and Reeve's key card. Then Genesis looked at Weiss. "Bring her back to the house," he directed his brother.

Tifa and Weiss proceeded to run towards the airship.

Seeing Tifa fleeing, Cloud was not going to let her get away from him again. Even if she didn't remember him, he was going to keep trying. If he could just get some time alone with her, he knew he could help her remember. He knew her better than anyone.

Cloud was about to run after Tifa when Genesis and the other three drew their swords ready to attack him. They were not going to let him leave that easily. Suddenly, the sound of a helicopter could be heard in the distance. Cloud knew what that sound meant, but the others looked around wondering where the noise was coming from.

Seconds later, the Shinra helicopter came flying up over the building with Reno and Elena hanging out of either end holding machine guns. The Turks opened fire sending an array of bullets directly at Genesis and the others. The four jumped out of the way before the bullets could land a hit. While the two Turks fired at Genesis and James, Alex and Katerina tried to attack the Turks in the helicopter.

The distraction allowed Cloud a chance to make a break for the airship. By now it had already lifted off and was about to fly away. Cloud ran to the end of the rooftop and jumped just making it onto the top of the shuttle. As soon as Cloud landed, he drove his sword into the metal under him in order to hold on. After securing his grip on his sword, Cloud looked around for a way in and spotted an escape hatch on top. He turned the latch and opened it, jumping inside.

When Cloud entered, Weiss and Tifa were sitting in the cockpit with Weiss piloting the aircraft. Upon seeing Cloud, Tifa got up from her chair and walked back to confront him.

Seeing Tifa approach, Cloud prepared himself for another attack. She lunged, trying to kick Cloud in the torso, but he caught her foot throwing her backwards. He had to start defending himself or risk serious injury in such an enclosed space. He was already seriously battered from the last fight and didn't know how much more he could take. Tifa charged at him again and they started struggling. Cloud managed to grasp both her wrists to prevent her from hitting him. She tried freeing herself from his grip, but he was too strong.

After a minute of struggling, the bay door located at the back of the aircraft opened and the plane started to tilt upwards causing them both to lose their footing. As they slid towards the back of the plane, Cloud was able to catch himself on a seatbelt but Tifa was not as lucky and started to slide towards the opening. Cloud tried to grab hold of her, but she was out of reach. Just when she was about to fall out of the aircraft, Cloud let go and dove after her into the open air. He finally reached her in midair and hugged her tight as she tried to struggle to break free. Realizing there was no point in struggling, she gave up.

Cloud held Tifa tight as they fell through the air. Cloud was able to position himself under Tifa, hoping to break her fall. He didn't know if his plan would work but he had to try. At least then one of them would have a chance at survival, and he would rather it be Tifa.

Accepting the inevitable, Tifa and Cloud closed her eyes as they plunged into the ocean below.

*****

Genesis was annoyed for letting himself and his team be distracted by the Turks. But at least he could take some satisfaction in the knowledge that they were able to take down the helicopter as it tried to flee. He hoped the Turks were not able to escape before it crashed into the city below.

As they stood on the rooftop, Genesis pulled out a small computer like device from his jacket pocket and inserted the memory card Tifa gave him. She managed to get all the files he requested, but right now he was looking for just one. Genesis' comrades were silent as he studied the information in front of him. After a few seconds of reading, a surprised look appeared on his face.

"What is it?" Katerina asked, noticing Genesis' expression.

"It's under the building but the exit is a few blocks east," Genesis informed them. He was very surprised by this because he was certain that due to its size, they would have concealed it in the Midgar ruins or in a secure facility outside the city.

"Wow, they must have a big basement," Alex commented.

"Good thing we called in Plan B," Katerina remarked. "All we have to do now is stroll down there."

At first, Genesis was worried that by calling in Plan B so soon all the chaos would make it harder for Tifa to secure the files and would alert the others to their plan before they found it. Lucky for them, Reeve had it hidden right under their noses this whole time. Genesis had his doubts, but again, Miles' plan worked. Tifa was able to secure the files exactly as predicted and they were able to take control of the two buildings with little resistance.

"Let's go," Genesis told the others as they exited the rooftop into the building.

*****

When Cloud and Tifa fell out of the aircraft, Weiss considered doubling back to look for them, but something was telling him not to bother. The chances of locating them in the massive body of water was slim, so he decided to go back to the house and update Miles.

When he reached the house, he found Miles in the kitchen cooking dinner. Weiss walked in through the back door and sat down at the table. Miles waited for a few seconds and looked at the spiky haired man.

"Where's Tifa?" Miles asked, expecting her to be with him.

"Bit of a problem there," Weiss informed the scientist casually. "She fell out of the plane on the way here."

"What?!" Miles turned away from the stove looking at Weiss enraged. "How did it happen?"

"The bay door opened, and they fell into the ocean," Weiss said bluntly while leaning back in the chair. "I circled back looking for her, but they fell from three thousand feet." Weiss lied, he didn't say it, but he figured there was a good chance they were dead anyways.

"They?" Miles asked, wondering whom exactly Weiss was referring to.

"Tifa and her boyfriend," Weiss replied with an evil grin, taking a jab at Miles.

Miles glared at Weiss, angered by the comment. "Did she recognize him?" Miles asked.

"She was fighting him when they fell out, so no."

"Good," Miles said, turning back to the stove. He tasted the sauce he was cooking then turned off the burner. "We'll leave before dawn tomorrow. I still have a few things to take care first." With dinner ready, he left to go fetch Chloe.

*****

Cloud awoke to the sound of campfire crackling. Without opening his eyes, he could sense that he was lying on the ground and it was nighttime. His whole body ached. The last thing he remembered was holding Tifa and hitting the water. He must have been knocked unconscious by the impact. He opened his eyes and looked over to see Tifa sitting on the other side of the fire, gazing into the flames. He was relieved to see that she was okay. Tifa looked preoccupied with something, like she had a lot on her mind.

Cloud slowly sat up and looked over at her. Noticing he was awake, she was now watching him with her big brown mako eyes.

“Thanks for saving me,” Tifa said to him with a serious expression. She was sitting with her legs bent in front of her and her arms wrapped around them like she was trying to keep warm.

After they crashed into the ocean, Tifa spent hours swimming to shore with Cloud. It was late by the time she reached land and she was exhausted. Then she started a fire before it became too dark.  

“Thanks for pulling me out of the water,” Cloud responded. He really didn’t know where to start. He had so much to talk to her about but didn’t want to scare her away or start another fight. He missed her so much, all he wanted to do was go over and hold her. Realizing he was staring at Tifa for too long, Cloud turned his attention to the fire.

There was a moment of awkward silence while they both watched the fire. Tifa looked over at Cloud who looked deep in thought. Looking at him, she couldn’t help but feel that there was something about his eyes that seemed familiar. This was the first time she had a familiar feeling since she woke up with amnesia.

She studied Cloud’s face trying hard to remember, but nothing. Other than his eyes, she didn’t recognize anything about him. She didn’t even know his name. Miles had told her about people from her past, but he never mentioned this man. She could tell he was like herself and the other SOLIDERs because he had mako eyes and was stronger than average. She wondered why he was not working with them. Her friends referred to him as the enemy, so there must be something about him that she wasn’t aware of. What puzzled her the most was why he was following her and risked his life for her.

“So why did you do it?” Tifa questioned, gazing over at him.

“Do what?” Cloud asked, directing his attention from the fire to Tifa.

“Risk your life trying to save me,” Tifa explained. She really wanted to know what his intentions were. Maybe he was just using her to get to her friends.

Cloud paused for a second before responding. “Tifa, I would do anything for you,” he said sincerely. He didn’t know what else to say other than the complete truth.

“What's your name?” she asked him. Over the last few months she had grown accustomed to not remembering people, but there was something about him that made her feel frustrated with herself for not remembering.

“Cloud,” he replied. It really hurt him that she didn’t even know his name. He felt so helpless not knowing what he could do to fix her and make her remember. They had so much history together and the thought of her not remembering everything they’ve been through upset him.

“Sorry, I don’t recognize that name. So how do you know me?” she asked him. She had no way of knowing if what he was telling her was true, but she figured she should ask.

Cloud paused, wondering where he should even start. He then decided to start from the beginning, hoping it might trigger a memory of him.

“We’ve known each other since we were children,” he informed her. “We grew up in Nibelhiem together.”

The only few memories Tifa still had were when she was young, but most of it was a blur. She remembered what her parents looked like. She also remembered her father being killed by Sephiroth in the reactor and the hatred she felt towards Shinra. Everything else surrounding that incident was blurry. She remembered that her mother was sick and died when she was a child. She remembered the name of her hometown, but she couldn’t remember anyone else from her past or even what her hometown looked like. When Miles informed her that she fought against Shinra, she believed him because she could remember the hatred she had towards the company.

Tifa frowned and looked back towards the fire. “Sorry, I don’t remember much from my past...”

There was a pause while Cloud tried to think of something that might jog her memory. Then he remembered something.  

“When I was thirteen, I asked you to meet me outside by the town well. It was a starry night when I told you I was leaving to join SOLDIER. You told me if I ever succeed and became famous, I had to promise to come rescue you if you were ever in danger.” Cloud looked at her intensely, hoping it would jog her memory. 

Tifa thought about what he said for a few seconds before answering. “So, did you keep your promise?” she asked him, a little curious. She was a very independent woman and couldn’t see herself saying something like that now, but maybe she was different as a youth.

“No,” he informed her, a little disappointed that she didn’t remember. “If anything, you rescued me,” he added truthfully. Tifa saved him in the lifestream and he couldn’t even be there for her when she needed him the most.

Tifa felt bad. Clearly, this man felt that she had a great impact on his life and she couldn’t even remember him.

“The one time you were in danger, I wasn’t strong enough to save you,” Cloud informed her. “That’s how you got that scar.”

Tifa was surprised he knew about her scar. She always wondered about it, and when she asked Miles, he said he didn’t know. Cloud seemed to know so much about her, she was starting to think he was telling the truth.

“So, you use to be in SOLDIER?” she asked him, changing the subject. It seemed like discussing their past was starting to upset him.

“Not exactly,” he replied.

“How did you get your mako eyes?” Tifa asked him.

“The same as you,” Cloud informed her. “I was abducted and experimented on.” He had to tell her the truth and hopefully she would believe him.

Tifa frowned at Cloud. “I was not part of some experiment,” she corrected him abruptly.

“Is that what _he_ told you?” Cloud asked, scowling. He was so angry at Miles for what he done to her, he couldn’t even say his name.

“Yes, _Miles_ saved my life,” Tifa responded, knowing whom he was referring to.

Hearing his name made Cloud furious. “He’s the reason you have amnesia!” Cloud snapped, starting to become impatient.  

“That’s not true!” Tifa snapped back.

Tifa believed that she had amnesia because she was injured trying to blow up the Mt. Nibel reactor. It was obvious this man hated Miles and she didn’t want to believe him. She decided that she was done talking with Cloud. All she could think about was getting home to Chloe. She missed her daughter so much, she just wanted to hold her and never let her go.

Tifa proceeded to lay down on the ground next to the fire, turning her back to Cloud. “Goodnight,” she said bitterly before going to sleep.

Cloud felt bad for getting upset. It was not her fault she was fed lies and was manipulated by an evil scientist. He regretted snapping at her, and now she doesn’t even want to talk to him. He decided to try again first thing in the morning.

“Goodnight,” Cloud said softly before lying down on the ground.


	25. Chapter 25

It was before sunrise when Tifa awoke. She looked over to see Cloud still sleeping with his back turned to her. Anxious to get home, she walked towards the forest leaving the sleeping Cloud behind.

It took over a half day of walking before she finally made it home. She was so relieved when she walked through the forest and entered the clearing. She was about to rush towards the front entrance of the house when she heard something in the woods behind her. She turned around to see Cloud step out from the thick brush.

"Why are you following me?" Tifa asked, starting to get annoyed with his stalking. All she wanted to do was see her daughter, she didn't have time for him right now.

"I'm sorry about last night," Cloud said, trying to make amends.

"Now's not a good time," Tifa said as she walked towards the front door of the house with Cloud following close behind. She walked in and it didn't seem like anyone was home.

"Chloe! Miles!" Tifa called out as she searched the house.

Cloud stopped near the entrance while Tifa raced upstairs to see if Chloe was napping, but all the bedrooms were empty.

"Who's Chloe?" Cloud asked Tifa as she descended the stairs towards him.

"My daughter," Tifa responded casually as she walked pass him towards the kitchen on her way to check the basement.

"Daughter?!" Cloud asked in shock. He quickly followed Tifa through the kitchen trying to get more information. "How old is she?" Cloud asked her as she was walking down into the basement with him following.

"Almost five months," Tifa replied, not really giving the question much thought.

Tifa was starting to get worried about the house being empty. She checked the basement and nothing. That meant the only place left was the shed.

"Five months? How could you leave your infant daughter with that man?" Cloud questioned, sounding a little upset.

By now Tifa was walking back up the steps towards the back door. She was starting to become very annoyed with Cloud following her and asking questions about her daughter. Now that he was questioning her parenting skills, she felt that he crossed the line. Tifa stopped and turned to look at him. She was standing two steps ahead on the stairs, so she was looking down at him.

"First off," she snapped. "What gives you the right to question what I do with my daughter? Secondly, that man is her father, so yes, I left her in his care." She then turned and continued walking up the steps towards the backdoor.

"Her Father?!" Cloud exclaimed. It looked like he was about to say something but stopped himself.

Having more important things to worry about, Tifa exited the house. She checked the shed but it was empty. Her phone didn't work anymore after her fall into the ocean and the house didn't have a landline. She didn't want to believe it, but she assumed Miles took Chloe to Edge. It angered her that he would bring their daughter to such as dangerous place, especially considering what they had planned. Tifa turned to address Cloud who was standing behind her.

"Does your phone work?" Tifa asked him in a panic.

Cloud pulled out his phone which happened to be waterproof and handed it to her. She tried to call Miles but there was no answer. This worried Tifa even more.

"I need to get to Edge," she informed Cloud, handing back his phone. If it meant finding her daughter, she was willing to put aside their differences.

"Don't worry, I know some people," Cloud informed Tifa as he put his phone to his ear.

*****

It was before noon by the time the shuttle reached Edge. When Weiss and Miles landed on the rooftop of the headquarters they were greeted by Genesis. Weiss exited followed by Miles carrying a napping Chloe.

"Where's Tifa?" Genesis asked, noticing she was not amongst them.

"Weiss lost her on their way back to the house," Miles informed Genesis nonchalantly. "So, the weapon was here all along," he said, changing the subject. He was upset about Tifa, but he had more important things to worry about right now. Other than Tifa missing, everything was working out better than expected. He was wondering why the files were in Edge and not their main headquarters Junon. This could have been one of the reasons. "What about the other files?" Miles asked. "What information do they contain?"

Genesis smiled. "Shinra military designs, account details, armory locations, payroll information. He even has his financial statements to Rufus in here.”  All of it capable of ruining Reeve's organization if leaked.

"Good," Miles replied, as they entered the building through the rooftop entrance.

Now that they secured both WRO headquarters, and eliminated almost all the loyal WRO employees, Reeve's army had been eliminated. There was only one party remaining that could stop them from officially bringing down the WRO.

"With this weapon, Reeve and the others will not be able to stop us," Miles said while carefully adjusting the sleeping child in his arms as he walked.

Reeve was not the only thing he had to worry about. Miles knew it would only be a matter of time before Cloud found out about the girl. He needed to be ready and they still had lots of work to do.

*****

It was late evening by the time the Shera arrived to pick up Cloud and Tifa. They met the airship just outside the forest and boarded to see that it was carrying a full load. Onboard was Reeve, Vincent, Yuffie, Cid, Nanakin, Barret, and all four Turks.

Reeve explained to Cloud and Tifa the reason for the delay in picking them up. He told them about what happened in Junon and rescuing the hostages. Then they went to Corel to pick up Barret and shortly after that they received a call from the Turks telling them their helicopter crashed in Edge, so they picked them up at the airfield before receiving the call from Cloud.

As Tifa walked on the bridge of the airship, everyone was excited and overjoyed to see that she was okay. Yuffie ran up and gave Tifa a big hug, making Tifa feel very awkward not knowing who she was.

"Oh, my gods, Tifa!" Yuffie said, squeezing her tight. "I'm so happy you're okay!" she added, releasing the woman.

"Thanks..." Tifa replied. Before she could ask Yuffie' name, Barret came walking up to her.

"Tifa, we found ya'!" Barret said with a big smile. "I can't wait to give Marlene and Denzel the good news."

Tifa felt embarrassed. All these people obviously knew her and seemed to be very excited to see her. She felt bad for not knowing who any of them were. She didn't recognize any of these people, and she thought they looked like a mismatched group. At the same time, being with them made her feel oddly comfortable, despite the new and unusual environment. There was a positive energy about this group that made her feel at ease considering how worried she was. This positive vibe surprised her a little since they were supposedly the enemy. This was now the second time she had a familiar feeling in two days. It felt like she had been here before; on this ship and with these people. It was starting to really bother her why she never had this feeling after eight months of living in her own home. She couldn't help but think that maybe Cloud was telling the truth and Miles lied to her.

"I'm so sorry, I don't recognize any of you," Tifa informed the group truthfully.

Reeve did warn everyone of Tifa's amnesia prior to her arrival but they were all hoping she might remember them.

Cloud walked up next to Tifa and started to introduce everyone. "These are all our good friends," he informed her. "That's Yuffie and Barret." He introduced the two people closest to Tifa before going around the room. "The man piloting the ship is Cid and next to him is Vincent."

"Hey girly!" Cid said, giving Tifa a big smile from behind the controls. Vincent was standing behind Cid and gave her a nod.

"Hello," Tifa replied, smiling.

"That's Nanakin," Cloud said pointing to the feline sitting near the staircase leading up to the controls.

"Good to see you Tifa," Nankin greeted her.

"Thanks...." Tifa replied, a little surprised to hear the beast talk. She just assumed he was a pet.

"These four are the Turks," Cloud continued, motioning to the group standing near the window. "That's Rude, Tseng, Elena, and Reno."

"Yo," Reno said greeting her while Elena gave a little waive.

"Nice meeting you," Tifa replied.

"And I think you know Reeve," Cloud informed her.

Reeve was standing near the Turks at the head of the bridge next to the window. Tifa didn't know what to think about him. She was informed by Miles and the others that he was a bad man, but she was beginning to question everything Miles had told her.

Reeve smiled. "Hello again," he greeted Tifa.

Tifa didn't respond but forced a smile in return. Now that she was introduced to everyone, it was time to plan their next move. They all stood around while Reeve update them on the situation.

"It appears that both the Junon and Edge headquarters have been overrun. We know most of the assailants are WRO employees, but what we don't know is how they were compromised." Reeve explained to the group.

Tifa knew the answer and debated whether she should tell him. On one hand, he was the enemy, but on the other hand, they were all helping her. Plus, even if she did tell Reeve, it wouldn't change anything since her friends had already succeeded at securing the buildings, so it wouldn't be detrimental to the plan if Reeve knew.

"I know how," Tifa informed Reeve from the back of the bridge. Everyone looked back, waiting for her to continue. "Many of the ex-Shira you hired were Deepground spies. Before the fall of Shinra, their job was to keep tabs on Shinra by posing as employees, it was called project Renegade."

She was close to Genesis and over the last few months they would spend hours talking. Genesis told her that when he was searching the Midgar ruins he discovered the identities of all the project Renegade spies, so he tracked them down and convinced them to work for the WRO, if they weren't already working for the organization. Even after all these years they continued to stay loyal to Deepground.

Hearing this, Reno looked over at Elena and shot her an 'I told you so' look after finding out his Deepground theory was essentially correct. Elena rolled her eyes in response.

"Thank you," Reeve said to Tifa. Knowing this, Reeve couldn't help but feel like a fool for being played by Deepground.

"What's on the files they're after?" Cid asked Reeve.

"There's plenty of top-secret information on that drive," Reeve explained. "They could be after a number of things."

Reeve looked nervous. Everyone in the room knew Reeve well enough to know he was hiding something.

"Why don't you tell them?" Tifa asked Reeve with her arms folded, glaring at him. She knew he was keeping the truth from the rest of them.

Everyone looked at Tifa then turned to face Reeve, waiting for an explanation. It was not like Reeve to keep secrets like this, he was usually very transparent about everything.

Reeve sighed. He knew he had to come clean or risk losing everyone's trust. "A few years ago, one of my teams stumbled across some powerful Shinra weapons when searching the Midgar ruins. I secured them and put them in a safe place."

Tsang looked at Reeve with stern expression. "Those prototypes were to be destroyed," he said. The Turk leader did not look pleased with this news.

All eyes were on Reeve waiting for an explanation. "This was my decision and I will accept the responsibilities," Reeve explained. "It's no excuse for lying, but at the time I decided to not destroy the weapons in order to assist the WRO and help create a level playing field."

"You told Rufus you would destroy them," Tsang snapped. "How could you think it was a good idea to keep weapons of mass destruction lying around?"

"Rufus does not have a world to protect," Reeve snapped back at Tseng. "Do you know how many innocent people died in the battle with Deepground? How about Meteor? Thousands of lives lost! Meteor, Omega; this is not like the wars of the past. Our enemies have superior strength and the power to wipe out millions.  _They_  are not human; how do we compete with that? I needed to use all available resources to help us avoid casualties in the future."

Everyone was silent until Tifa spoke up.

"They? You mean people like me?" Tifa asked, upset with his choice of words. It was obvious to her that he was referring to anyone with Jenova cell like Genesis and herself. The way Reeve was talking, it sounded like Weiss when he talked about humans. Genesis would often correct Weiss because they were human too, but after listening to Reeve, part of her could understand why Weiss felt the way he did.

"I didn't mean it like that," Reeve said. He tried apologizing to Tifa, but she had already walked off the bridge.

"Not cool Reeve," Reno said, shaking his head in disappointment.

"So what kind of weapon are we looking at?" Cid asked, looking between Reeve and Tsang. To him there was no point worrying about why Reeve did what he did. It was too late now, and they needed to focus on the problem at hand.

"Think Proud Clod, but larger and more powerful," Tsang explained.

*****

Tifa exited the bridge and walked down the corridor. She stopped at a window and gazed out into the night's sky trying to calm herself down. A few seconds later, Cloud came out to join her.

"How can you be friends with him?" Tifa asked, still looking out of the window.

"He wasn't referring to us," Cloud explained, standing next to her. "He has fought alongside us for years. We've has seen a lot of good people die at the hands of some very bad people."

Tifa turned to look at him with a serious expression. She knew she would never fight alongside someone who was connected to Shinra. "There is no way I fought alongside a man like him," Tifa corrected Cloud, then shifted her gaze back to the window.

After a few seconds, Cloud turned to look at her with a serious expression on his face. "Tifa, everyone in that room cares about you, and when you went missing, a little piece of them went missing too. We're a family, and no matter what we say to each other, we will always be there for one another."

Cloud paused and looked out the window while Tifa thought about what he said. Cloud smiled as he thought about something and decided to share it with Tifa.

"You probably don't remember this," Cloud started to explain, "but your real home is in Edge where you own a bar called 7th Heaven. We always have friends staying with us, and it gets extremely crowed, but you wouldn't have it any other way. You take care of everyone and you enjoy listening to all the commotion."

Cloud paused and looked over at Tifa as she continued to look out the window, listening. "You love having a full house because it was just you and your father growing up. Your father was busy working, so your house was often empty and you were lonely as a child. We have two children living with us, Denzel and Marlene, they love you so much." Cloud finally turned to face her, hoping she believed him.

Tifa smiled, that sounded exactly like her. When she was staying with Miles and others in Mideel, she loved having the house full and preparing food for everyone.

Tifa glanced over at Cloud with a grin. "So, how did you feel when I went missing?" she asked him, a little curious.

Cloud looked her straight in the eyes, unwavering in his response. "For eight months I searched every corner of the planet looking for you, and I was not going to rest until I found you."

The way he looked at her with a serious but loving expression, Tifa believed him.

Tifa gazed into his eyes, there was something about them that made her feel safe. The way they glowed reminded her of Chloe's eyes. She missed her daughter so much; she was so worried about her. Thinking about her daughter was breaking her, but she forced herself to stay strong.

"Can I ask you something?" Cloud asked.

"What?" she replied, still gazing into his eyes.

"If you don't remember anything from your past, how do you know if what he told you is true?" Cloud asked her.

Tifa looked away, thinking about Cloud's question. Truthfully, she had no way of knowing if what Miles said was true. At first, she trusted him because he knew who she was and knew personal details like her mako exposure. Plus, his explanation of things seemed to make since at the time, she had no reason not to believe him. But after the last two days, she was starting to have doubts. The way she was feeling on this aircraft and being with Cloud; it felt so right.

"I guess I have no way of knowing," Tifa said truthfully.

"What does your instincts tell you?" Cloud asked tenderly, happy that he was starting to get through to her.

Tifa didn't answer and continued to look away from him. She could tell Cloud knew she was having doubts, it was like he could read her thoughts.

"Tifa," Cloud said, taking hold of her hands. "I have loved you ever since I first saw you when I was five years old. You are the greatest thing to ever happen to me and I wouldn't be standing here today if it wasn't for you." As Cloud held her hands tight, Tifa finally looked up at him. "When you first told me that you were pregnant with our child, it was one of the happiest moments of my life, and I will do anything it takes to make us a family again."

Listening to him, Tifa had no doubt in her mind he was telling the truth. This would explain why his eyes reminded her so much of Chloe. Tifa felt a connection with him that she couldn't explain. It hurt her so much that she couldn't remember anything from their past. It sounded like they were so close and in love. She was starting to develop feelings for him, but she couldn't put it into words just yet.

Following her instincts, Tifa stepped forward and kiss him. After a long kiss, she embraced him, it felt so right, all her doubts and fears were melting away in his arms.

"I love you so much," Cloud said, holding her tight as he nuzzled his face into her neck.

After everything that just happened and worrying about her daughter, it was starting to overwhelm Tifa. As she stood there embracing him, tears were starting to form in her eyes.

Seeing that she was upset, Cloud tried to comfort her. "Don't worry," he told her. "Everything is going to be okay."

After a long embrace, Tifa stepped back and wiped the tears from her eyes. "We should go back in," she told him. They were going to be near Edge soon and they needed to have a plan.


	26. Chapter 26

Miles was an ignorant fool. He was a sorry excuse for a scientist and an embarrassment to the title. He had no idea about the forces he was messing with and there were many times over the last few months where Hojo wanted nothing more than to run the young man through with his sword. It irritated Hojo that Miles thought he knew enough about the reunion theory to fully comprehend the experiment. At most, Miles only understood a portion of what he was trying to accomplish years ago under the Shinra manor. All Hojo wanted was Sephiroth clones he could control the way Jenova controlled its hosts. But years later, Hojo had now realized that no experiment could be as powerful as his greatest accomplishment. Sephiroth was the only being strong enough to assimilate with Jenova and was even able to control it from within the lifestream.

Jenova was very powerful and cunning organism. Its cells act like a parasite assimilating with the host's cells before taking control. After years of experiments, he learned that only a select few are strong enough to repel its immense power. Those infected before birth, like Sephiroth and Angeal, usually develop resistance to it. Stronger beings like members of SOLDIER usually fare well but weaker beings like the Nibelhiem survivors he used as part of his reunion theory, were no match for the Jenova cells. He wished he had of thought of that before he injected himself with the very same cells. Once he realized he was losing the battle with Jenova over control of his mind and body, he uploaded a copy of his memories and personality into the Worldwide Network. But somehow a piece of Jenova's consciousness followed him. Although their consciousness remained separated in the virtual prison for years, he could sense its presence lurking in the dark corners of the network.

Genesis and the others thought that when Weiss and Omega were defeated, Hojo was destroyed. Even Weiss himself thought the scientist inside him was terminated when his body merged with Nero's, but it was going to take a lot more than that. Over the last few months, Hojo had been taking a back seat observing and waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike, without Weiss even realizing what was inside him.

Weiss didn't even realize that it was Hojo who opened the door on the aircraft, causing Tifa and Cloud to fall. He needed to get Tifa out of the way in order to complete his mission.

Hojo laughed inwardly at Miles, the man thought that everything up to this point was all his own doing but over the last few months Hojo had been nudging him in the right direction this whole time. It irritated him that the cocky youth believed that he could improve on one of his experiments, but Hojo was going to have the last laugh. Miles was using the child to recreate a being as strong as Sephiroth, but Hojo had something bigger planned. Knowing there was a functional virtual reality device in the building, all Hojo needed now was the child.

*****

It was one hour to midnight and Miles was ahead of schedule having prepared everyone for the upcoming battle. Taking a break, he decided to make his way up to the 37th floor where his old laboratory was located. He was surprised his old keycard still worked for this floor as he assumed Reeve would have deactivated it months ago.

It was here Miles knew he would find something to celebrate with. Being very familiar with this floor, and the former occupants, Miles walked into the head of corporate services' office. Spotting the cabinet in the corner, Miles walked over and opened it revealing a rather large collection of scotch amongst some other liquors. He was usually not much of a drinker, but after a long and busy evening he needed something stiff. Inspecting the collection, he located an expensive bottle aged twenty-four years. Taking a glass from the top of the cabinet, he poured a small amount and sniffed before drinking it in one gulp.

"Not bad," he said before pouring himself a little more.

Then, Genesis walked into the room looking for the scientist. "Are all the preparations complete?" he asked Miles.

"Yes," Miles replied. "The Renegades have been briefed and are in position. The others are still in the basement."

"Good, everything is going according to plan," Genesis said, standing behind Miles as the scientist was pouring himself another glass.

"Drink?" Miles asked, looking back at the man.

"No, thank you."

"Common, just one," Miles said, pouring Genesis the drink anyways. "This is expensive scotch and we should celebrate our good fortune."

Genesis reluctantly agreed, this was as good a time as any to take a break. He looked around for a place to sit. Seeing the dead executive slumped over in the desk chair, Genesis walked over to the unoccupied sofa and sat down.

"I've been thinking about our plan," Miles said as he placed the bottle of scotch down after pouring the two drinks.

"What about it?" Genesis asked.

"Well, we already have the building, the army, and all the weapons," Miles started to explain. "Why don't we use our newfound power to assume the role as the new world leader?" Miles walked over to Genesis with both drinks in his hands and stopped in front of the coffee table.

Genesis frowned. "The whole purpose of this is to rid the world of all corrupt powers," he explained, sounding a little aggravated with the suggestion.

Miles shrugged. "It was just a passing thought," he said, handing Genesis a drink.

Genesis accepted the drink and downed the contents, then handed the glass back to Miles who had already finished his.

"It's a shame," Miles said, holding the two empty glasses as he looked down at the man with a grin. "I would hate to see all this power go to waste, I know your brother agrees with me."

"Leave Weiss to me," Genesis said as he was about to stand up. Suddenly, Genesis' grabbed his chest as he struggled to breath. He knew something was wrong and he looked up at Miles to say something, but the words could not come out. He tried to walk towards Miles but fell, crashing into the coffee table causing it to shatter under him.

Miles smiled, looking at Genesis' body lying face down on the floor. Miles bent down next to Genesis and started to look through his jacket pockets.

"Sorry it had to come to this," Miles said as he located the keycard.

Miles really didn't want to poison the man, but he had no choice. He couldn't pass up an opportunity like this. He had an army, weapons, and access to all the WRO resources at his fingertips. He would be a fool to throw it away because of Genesis' twisted sense of righteousness. With the keycard in hand, Miles walked out of the office shutting the door behind him.

*****

The basement under the WRO Headquarters was a large cavity under the building full of old Shinra technology, prototypes, and weapons. It also housed a small armory, so Alex and James were like kids in a candy store as they combed through the stockpile of weapons trying to find some new toys. Weiss had disappeared in the back looking for something while Katerina was sitting next to Chloe who was sleeping on a makeshift bed made from blankets.

Katerina was watching the young girl until her attention shifted away when she heard the elevator door open and Miles stepped out with two other men dressed as peacekeepers.

"Where's Genesis?" Katerina asked the scientist. She had not seen him since earlier today.

"He had some things to take care of," Miles explained. "There's been a slight change of plans."

Hearing Miles' voice, Weiss appeared out of nowhere.

"Go retrieve the weapon," Miles directed the two Renegades who left to find the robot.

Katerina gave the scientist a puzzled look. "I thought Genesis said—"

"And I said the plans changed," Miles interrupted her. "Don't worry, the rest of the plan remains the same. They are waiting for you on the ground floor," Miles informed Katerina as he walked over and picked up the sleeping girl. "Now, if you excuse me, I have some things to take care of."

Miles entered the elevator with Chloe and Weiss following close behind.

By now James and Alex were standing a few feet away from their female comrade observing what just happened.

"What was that about?" Alex asked Katerina, noticing how odd Miles was acting.

"Not sure," Katerina said, frowning. She walked over to her sword laying on the ground. "Let's go," she said to her friends as they walked towards the elevator and waited for it to descend again.

*****

As Miles and Weiss stood in the elevator there was silence until Weiss finally spoke up.

"What about Genesis?" he asked Miles.

"He's been taken care of," Miles replied quietly as to not wake the child sleeping in his arms.

"Good," Weiss said with a grin. "Everything's going according to plan."

"Yes, once we take care of Reeve and the others, all obstacles will be eliminated," Miles commented.

It was a long elevator ride from the basement to the top floor. The was complete silence until the elevator stopped and the two stepped out.

"Are you going to guard the entrance?" Miles asked Weiss, wondering why he was getting off the elevator with him.

"No, I'm going to the science research division," Weiss informed Miles. "On what floor is it located?" he asked, unfamiliar with the building.

"Research division?" Miles questioned, giving him a puzzled look. He had not heard that title in years. That's what Shinra called their science department. Unlike Shinra, the WRO was nowhere near as advanced when it came to scientific research. "They only have a crude laboratory located on the 37th floor. What do you want with it?"

"I'm looking for a SND machine," he advised Miles. Weiss was one of the few people who could perform a Synaptic Net Dive, so this was not a strange request.

"You really think now is a good time?" Miles asked. "They could be here at any minute."

"Is there one or not?" Weiss asked, sounding irritated as they walked towards Reeve's office.

"Yes but—"

"But what?!" Weiss barked. "With Genesis gone, I'm in charge. Deepground is  _my_  army after all. Now give me your keycard," he demanded.

By now they were just entering Reeve's office. It was dark with the only source of light being from the city lights and moonlight shining through the big window. Miles gently placed the girl down on the couch, careful not to wake her. Realizing Weiss was right, and not wanting to push his luck with the man, Miles reluctantly gave him his keycard.

"I want both of them," Weiss commanded, holding his hand out after taking the first card.

"What will I use?" Miles asked. He needed Reeve's key to access every corner of the building.

"That's not my problem," Weiss retorted. He unsheathed one of his katanas pointing it at Miles while still holding his free hand out.

Fearing for his life, Miles handed him his last keycard.

Weiss lowered the sword while putting the card it in his pocket. "And I'm taking the girl," Weiss explained, looking over at the sleeping child.

Miles was even more surprised by this request. "What? Why?" he asked.

"I have plans for her," Weiss answered. He took a step towards the child, but Miles tried to block his path. Weiss raised his sword again, pointing it at Miles' chest as a warning.

Surrendering, Miles put his hands up and stepped to the side.

Weiss walked over to the girl and looked down at her. Behind him, Miles reached into his coat pocket to retrieve his gun, but Weiss quickly turned around and impaled his sword into Miles' right side. Miles groaned and fell to his knees after Weiss pulled out his sword.

Holding his wound, Miles looked up at the spikey haired man in the dim light.

"You fool," Weiss said looking down at the man. "You think you are so smart with your plans and your experiments. You've never had one original idea your whole life. You could never live up to  _my_  caliber. If it wasn't for me you would have stayed a nobody on the SOLDIER floor."

In obvious pain, Miles gave Weiss a bewildered look. "Hojo?" he asked, not sure what to think.

Weiss smiled at the man. Without saying a word, he sheathed his sword and picked up the sleeping child before exiting the room.

Miles tried to crawl after them, but he was unable to move as he put pressure on the deep wound that was hemorrhaging blood at an alarming rate.


	27. Chapter 27

It was a little past midnight and the airship was minutes away from Edge when one of the crew members ran onto the bridge.

"Sir! I just received a radio transmission saying Edge is under attack by the WRO," the crew member said franticly.

"How long until we reach Edge?" Reeve asked the captain.

"About fifteen minutes," Cid informed him.

Cloud and Tifa were standing together near the entrance. Cloud looked over at Tifa who appeared bothered by the news.

"What is it?" he asked her.

Tifa shook her head. "This was not part of the plan," she explained to him. "Genesis is only after the WRO. He's trying to help the citizens of Edge, not hurt them. Something's wrong..."

Tifa walked over next to Reeve who was standing towards the front of the bridge still talking.

"Our main priority is stopping the aggressors and preventing as many casualties as possible," Reeve advised Cid and the others.

"If I can get into the building, I can put a stop to this," Tifa informed Reeve.

Tifa's main priority was locating her daughter as soon as possible, but she knew if she could find Chloe, she'll find the others. She was angry at Miles for lying to her, but Genesis and the others were the only people she had known for the last eight months. They were good to her and her daughter, so she owed them a chance to explain themselves.

Tifa didn't know who was behind the attack but she was sure it wasn't Genesis. When she was living with him, they would spend hours talking. She knew him well enough to know that that the last thing he wanted to do was hurt innocent people. She didn't want to believe it was Miles, but she was beginning to feel that the Miles she thought she knew was a lie. Weiss was the only one she felt was capable of this, but she didn't think he would turn against Genesis.

Cloud approached Tifa. "I'm coming with you," he informed her.

"It's best if I go alone," Tifa explained to him. "They trust me."

"Tifa, you know I can't let that happen," Cloud said firmly. "I won't risk losing you again." He gently grabbed her shoulders and looked her straight in the eye letting her know he was serious.

Tifa gazed into his blue eyes for a moment. They were so captivating she had to snap herself out of it. She couldn't argue with those eyes, and she wondered if her old self would normally cave to him this easily.

Everyone on the bridge just stood there watching the two in silence.

"Fine," Tifa reluctantly agreed. "You can help find Chloe but let me talk to the others."

"Who's Chloe?" Barret asked the couple, wondering if he missed something.

"Our daughter," Cloud replied before Tifa had a chance to respond.

Everyone in the room was shocked to hear the news, apart from the Turks who already knew of Tifa's pregnancy since Reno overheard their conversation in Healen.

"Congratulations Spikey," Barret said slapping Cloud on the back.

All their friends were surprised but happy for the couple. However, given the circumstances, they would have to do the celebrating later.

"Hate the interrupt the tender moment folks, but we're about two minutes away from Edge," Cid informed the group.

"What's the plan?" Yuffie asked Reeve.

Reeve paused for a moment thinking. "We'll drop Cloud and Tifa off on the rooftop," he directed. "The rest of us will split into two teams and target the assailants terrorizing the city."

"Hey, check this out," Cid told everyone.

They all directed their attention from Reeve to the bridge window. By now they were in view of Edge and the first thing they could see was a large robot standing around 60 feet tall, taller than some of the buildings in the city. It looked a lot like the Proud Clod with a similar build and was a red color with black trim. It was standing next to the WRO headquarters as if guarding it. The machine was shooting random missile like projectiles at nearby structures. A few buildings were engulfed in flames while some were destroyed completely.

Cid circled the robot, keeping a safe distance as he tried to get a view of what was going on below. In the streets they could see peacekeepers shooting at citizens who were trying to flee. Most of the chaos was occurring within a few blocks of the headquarters.

Spotting the airship, the robot shot a missile towards them which Cid managed to avoid.

"Let's roll!" Barret said to everyone as they all prepared themselves for the impending battle.

*****

When Yuffie, Barret, Vincent, and Nanakin touched ground a few blocks away from the headquarters, they found the streets overrun with people trying to flee. They were not far from the 7th Heaven and although Yuffie had a gun, she knew she could fine her conformer there full of materia. It also had a much-needed change of clothes. She told the others where she was going and that she would be right back. Nanakin decided to go with her for support while Barret and Vincent headed in the direction of the headquarters.

As Yuffie and Nanakin made their way through the war-torn streets, Yuffie was shocked by all the carnage and destruction. They only good thing was that most of the destruction was confined to the business district although there were a few residences in the area. It was obvious that the attackers had already made their way through this area so the two kept an eye out for enemies as they neared their destination.

When they reached the 7th Heaven, Yuffie made her way upstairs while Nankin stayed by the entrance guarding it. Yuffie felt energized once she quickly changed into her regular clothes and retrieved her weapon and materia. When she raced downstairs, she gave a few orbs to Nanakin and they exited.

Although it was nighttime, the streetlamps were bright and lit up the main roads. As they made their way back towards the headquarters, they were slowed down while trying to run against all the people fleeing. As Yuffie ran past an alleyway, she stopped in her tracks when something caught her eye. Seeing that Yuffie was no longer running next to him, Nanakin stopped and ran back to her.

Between the two buildings Yuffie could see three peacekeepers with their backs to her corning a group of six people, two of them children. The attackers had their guns raised and ready to fire. Immediately, Yuffie used her barrier materia to create a barrier between the attackers and the citizens. The bullets stopped at the shield preventing the citizens from being harmed. Instantaneously, Nankin used a fire materia to engulf the attackers in flames, falling to the ground dead. As soon as the flames cleared, the citizens took the opportunity to escape while the two continued towards the headquarters.

*****

Once Kateria, Alex, and James left the basement they made their way to the ground floor to meet up with the chief of security and his team. Their job was to guard the rooftop and they waited for the head of security to escort them up since he was in the possession of the keycard.

The chief was talking to someone on his radio before he addressed the team. "I just received word from ground patrol that an airship has entered the city's airspace," he informed the group. Then security chief directed the trio of SOLIDERs and a team of five Renegades towards the elevator.

Once inside the elevator, he swiped his card to access the top floor. As they all stood in the crowded elevator, Katerina had a nagging feeling she couldn't ignore. Miles was acting strange in that basement and she wanted to find out why. When they reached the rooftop, Katerina and her two comrades were surprised to see the city under attack.

"This isn't right," Katerina heard Alex say, as if reading her thoughts. They had all seen their share of destruction before, but they knew this was not what Genesis had planned.

"Something's wrong," Katerina said to Alex, then walked up to the chief. "Give me your keycard," she demanded.

"No, I'm under direct orders," the man informed her.

"Well that's too bad," Katerina sad to the man grinning. "James sweetie," she said, calling out to her friend.

James took a few steps towards the man, and before the man had a chance to react, James swiped his gun with one hand and grabbed his shirt collar with the other. Using the collar of his shirt, James lifted the man up off the ground as his feet dangled in the air.

Seeing their senior officer in distress, the renegades pointed their firearms at the three.

Alex drew his sword, raising it in defense. "Do you really think that's a good idea?" Alex asked the group of soldiers as he smirked evilly. They looked at each other nervously, unsure of themselves.

"Now, now, we're all on the same side here," Katerina told the man still hanging in the air. "I just need to borrow your keycard to find our friend, YOUR superior."

Wanting to get away from the big man as soon as possible, the chief put his hand in his pocket and pull out his keycard, handing it to Katerina.

Katerina knew they needed the keycard to access the top floors and she had a feeling that's where they'll find Genesis. "Now tell me where Genesis is?" she asked him.

"I don't know," the man replied nervously, looking down at her.

Katerina sighed, shaking her head a little, then glared at him. "I know you got someone monitoring all those security cameras," she said, sounding impatient. "Radio and ask them to check the cameras to find out," she directed him.

The man reached onto his belt, unclipped his radio and started to talk into it. After a minute the voice on the radio said Genesis was last seen walking into an office on the 37th floor.

"See, it wasn't that hard," Katerina informed him. She nodded to James who threw the man into the group of Renegades like he was a piece of trash knocking all of them down.

"Let's go," Katerina said as the three made their way back into the building.

******

Genesis struggled to move at first but after mustering all his strength, he finally forced himself to rise. He was furious at Miles, but it was going to take a lot more than poison to defeat him. This was not his first time cheating death and it probably wouldn't be his last. He knew his chosen path was not going to be an easy one, but with the goddess on his side, he was confident he could overcome any obstacle thrown his way.

He was equally mad at Weiss for plotting against him. Miles he could understand, but not his brother.

As the winged man pushed himself up off the broken glass, his face was bleeding and had multiple cuts from falling into the table.

As he looked around the room, the first thing he noticed was the devastation going on outside. Gazing out into the city, he could see the people trying to flee the destruction. Seeing his fellow Deepground members attack a city full of innocent people caused a wave of rage to rush over him. Hell bent on revenge, he reached into his pocket trying to find the keycard, but it was gone. Miles must have lifted it from him and he was sure he knew where the scientist would be. He needed to find a way to the top floor.

Looking around the room he noticed the desk chair with the dead man still sitting in it. He slowly walked over and pushed the body off before picking up the chair and throwing it through the window, breaking it. He was still a weak from the poison, but the cool night air helped. Standing by the broken window, he took a few seconds to make sure he had enough strength to fly.

Genesis spoke calmly while looking over the city. "My friend, the fates are cruel; There are no dreams, no honor remains; The arrow has left the bow of the goddess..." Ready to fly, he then jumped through the opening and disappeared into the night's sky. 


	28. Chapter 28

When the trio reached the 37th floor, they located the office Genesis was last seen entering. Inside they were surprised to see the broken coffee table and the smashed-out window; obvious signs of a struggle.

Alex walked over by the desk and inspected the broken window. He looked down at the dead body lying next to the desk. He was relieved to see it wasn't Genesis.

"We got a dead guy over here, but no sign of Genesis," Alex informed the others. He looked out the window, but it was dark outside, and they were too far up to see if Genesis had fallen to his death.

James walked over to the liquor cabinet while Katerina inspected the scene by the shattered table. There were two empty drinking glassing sitting next to her and little drops of blood all over the broken glass. She didn't like the looks of this. She knew Miles was not strong enough to overpower Genesis by force, so he must have done something to catch Genesis off-guard. James was just about to take a swig from a bottle of whiskey when Katerina looked over at him.

"James stop," Katerina directed him, right before the bottle was about to touch his lips. "It could be poisoned," she informed him.

Looking a little disappointed, James closed the bottle and put it back in the cabinet.

"So now what?" Alex asked his friends.

"Let's go get some answers," Katerina replied and the three exited the room towards the top floor.

*****

By the time Nanakin and Yuffie reached Barret and Vincent, they seemed to have the situation under control. They were a little over a block away from the headquarters and the surrounding area appeared to have been evacuated leaving only them and the assailants. Upon seeing her friend, Yuffie threw Barret an Ice materia.

As soon as the man equipped the orb, a group of six peacekeepers turned the corner and charged them. Instead of firing their weapons as expected, one of the attackers stopped to cast a lightening spell on Nanakin but he managed to jump just before the bolt hit him. Vincent fired his weapon at the attacker, killing the man instantly.

Another peacekeeper cast as fire spell on Yuffie, but it did no damage thanks to the magic barrier she cast on herself earlier. Yuffie threw her weapon at the man, knocking him down. It didn't take them long to defeat the attackers and regroup.

"This is easier than expected," Yuffie commented to her friends. Having the materia was a big help considering it's been years since she used some in battle.

"Fuck girl, don't say that!" Barret warned her.

"Why not?" Yuffie asked, puzzled.

"Because when you say something like that, things always go wrong," Nanakin commented. 

Yuffie scoffed. "Don't be ridiculous, the headquarters is only a block away," she told the others. "I wonder if Cid has taken out the weapon yet?" she asked changing the subject. The buildings around them were too tall so they couldn't view the headquarters or the robot from their position.

Before anyone had a chance to answer, Vincent irrupted. "We're almost there," he informed them. "Let's go"

They all followed Vincent down the street and towards the Headquarters. When they turned the corner, they came face to face with over three dozen soldiers guarding the front entrance and the giant robot standing behind them. Spotting them all, the small army Renegades raised their weapons ready to attack.

"I'm sorry guys," Yuffie apologized sheepishly, feeling bad for jinxing them as they prepared for battle.

*****

After dropping off Barret and the others, it took some time before Cid was able to get close enough to let off Cloud and Tifa.

Once the two landed, it didn't take long for them to defeat the six men guarding the rooftop entrance. They were both expecting it to be more heavily occupied.

Realizing she was missing something, Tifa looked at Cloud. "We need a keycard to reach the top floors," Tifa informed him. She had a feeling whoever was behind this would be hiding out on the top floor. She regretted giving Reeve's keycard to Genesis.

Cloud reached into his pocket and pull out Collin's keycard. Tifa smiled at him and they entered the stairwell. They figured it was best to follow Tifa's hunch and start with the top floor. They were just about to reach the first landing when Cloud head footsteps approaching them from below. He pulled out his sword and ran down the stairs to get a jump on whoever was approaching. As soon as he turned the corner, a sword came crashing towards him, but he blocked it just in time.

"Stop!" Tifa said as soon she realized who it was. Listening to her, Cloud and Alex lowered their swords. Tifa ran ahead of Cloud to talk to them.

"What's going on?" Tifa questioned the three.

"We think Miles did something to Genesis," Alex informed her. "We can't find him anywhere."

"Where's Chloe?" Tifa asked them.

"Last time I saw her, she was with Miles," Katerina informed the mother.

"Where is he?" Cloud questioned.

"We think he is on the top floor," Katerina told him. "We were just about to go up and ask him about Genesis."

"That weapon is outside wreaking havoc on the city," Tifa informed the group. "Genesis would not have wanted this," she added. She was hoping by telling them this they would agree to help the others defend the city.

Katerina looked at her two comrades. "What are we doing boys?" she asked them.

"Let's go kick some weapon ass," Alex said, eager to get his fight on. James and Katerina nodded in agreement.

"Leave Miles to us," Tifa told them and the two groups parted ways.

*****

Cid circled the robot trying to get within range but the multitude of missiles and gunfire bombarding the airship was making it rather difficult. After a few minutes of some skilled flying, Cid finally had a chance to fire one of his cannons, successfully hitting the target. Unfortunately, the attack did no damage and the machine appeared unscathed.

"What the hell is this thing made of?" Cid commented to the small group standing in front of him on the bridge. Besides his crew, Reeve and the four Turks were the only ones left on the airship. "So?" he asked looking down at them from steering platform. "How fuck do I take this thing down?!"

"What makes you think we know?" Reno asked, looking up at the captain like he was crazy.

"It's a Shinra robot, ain't it?" Cid said giving the Turks a frustrated look.

"It's not like we built the damn thing!" Reno stressed. "Do we look like engineers to you?!"

"Your robots always have some kind of weak spot," the captain explained, turning the steering wheel forcefully to dodge another attack from the enemy. "So, what is it?"

"I donno," Reno shrugged. "Electricity?" he guessed, it was mechanical after all.

Up to this point everyone was silently listening to Cid and Reno bicker while watching the scene out the window.

"Maybe it has a vulnerability you need to exploit in order to weaken it," Rude suggested.

Although Tseng had known about the weapon and had studied designs during its initial stages, this was his first time seeing it in person. All he knew about the robot was that it was one of the last and most advanced weapons Shinra had built before the fall of the company. It was still in the prototype phase, but it had the latest in weapons, hydraulics, artificial intelligence, and defense. It had an almost impenetrable exoskeleton and there was no element or weapon he could think of that could penetrate its armor. Then, as the aircraft turned towards the weapon, Tseng noticed a black metal box on the robot's chest. Rude's suggestion had reminded him of something he recalled seeing on the weapon's schematics.

"You see that black armored box on its chest?" Tseng pointed out to the group as soon as the Robot was within view.

Although it was hard to focus on due to the airship's constant maneuvering, they were all able to see what Tseng was referring to.

"That box powers the weapon's shield that protects the exoskeleton from physical and elemental damage. If we can take it out, it will leave the weapon vulnerable."

"How the hell do we take out the box if our weapons won't work against it?" Cid asked.

"The exoskeleton protects it from all elemental and physical damage. We need to manually disable the power source," Tseng informed him.

"You want one of us to jump down on that thing?!" Reno asked, fearful that he was going to be voluntold to do it. The redhead looked around to see Rude, Elena and Tseng looking at him seriously. "Oh, hell no," he informed his fellow Turks putting his hands up. "I'm not volunteering for this one."

"You won't have to," Reeve said, and they all turned to look at him. "I know someone who can help us." Less than a minute later, Cait Sith came walking onto the bridge.

"Cait Sith number six at your service," the little feline told the group excitingly.

"Cait Sith we need your help with something," Reeve told his mechanical companion, motioning to the Weapon outside.

The cat looked at the robot outside and jumped fearfully. "Hey, wait now, I'm no good at fighting," the mechanical cat informed the group waiving his hands nervously while backing up.

"No, we have a mission that can use your stealth," Reeve corrected the toy.

"Oh, well, in that case, what can I do for you blokes?" he said, changing his tune.

"We need you to slip onto the robot and deactivate its shield," Reeve explained.

"And how do I deactivate it?" the cat asked its master.

"Use this," Cid said, throwing the cat a stick of dynamite.

"Cid, how is dynamite supposed to work if your cannons couldn't even make a dent earlier?" Elena asked the captain.

Cait Sith stood there holding the stick of TNT and scratching its head.

"Actually, it might work," Tseng corrected his partner. "The outside is resistant to damage but inside it might be vulnerable. If he can find an opening behind the shield, the explosion from the dynamite should damage it."

"That's what I was thinking," Cid said as he lit a cigarette then threw his lighter at the toy cat. "That's my lucky lighter Cait, don't lose it," he warned.

"Thanks Cid," Cait Sith said looking down at the TNT in one hand and the lighter in the other. 

Now, it was Cid's job to help Cait Sith reach the weapon. 

"Hold on to your drawers!" the pilot warned the others grinning. "It's going to be a bumpy ride!"


	29. Chapter 29

When Tifa and Cloud entered Reeve's office, they were surprised to see Miles sitting behind the desk waiting for them. The office was dark with just the city lights faintly illuminating the room through the large window. Despite the darkness, Tifa could tell Miles was amiss. Not only did he look weary and worn, there was something about the expression on his face that worried her. He was slumped down in the chair holding his side.

Upon seeing Tifa, Miles forced a faint smile. "Glad to see you're okay, Tifa," he told her.

"Where's Chloe?" Tifa demanded. Although she would love to confront him right now, her priority was finding her daughter.

"I don't know..." Miles said softly, looking ashamed and embarrassed for letting himself be played so easily.

"What did you do to her?" Cloud growled, growing impatient. He was just as eager to find his child and didn't have time for these games.

Miles scowled at Cloud. "I would never hurt her!" He tried to shout but he was in too much pain. He closed his eyes for a second as a wave of pain rushed over him. "I tried to stop him from taking her, but he overpowered me." Miles removed his hand to reveal a large wound and his shirt stained with blood.

"Who took her?" Tifa asked with a worried expression.

"Weiss, but I think it's really Hojo," Miles informed her.

A wave of fear rushed through Cloud. Sensing Cloud's worry, Tifa looked at him.

"Who's Hojo?" she asked. She thought she might have heard Genesis mention the name in passing when talking about Weiss going crazy.

"An evil and depraved man," Cloud informed her. "She's in grave danger."

"What could he want with her?" Tifa asked, looking between Miles and Cloud.

"I can think of a few things," Cloud commented. After what Hojo did to him, he didn't even want to think about what he would do to his daughter. Cloud turned to Tifa. "We need to find her as soon as possible." He was about to leave when Tifa reached for his shoulder.

"Wait," Tifa said, causing Cloud to look back at her. "We can't leave him like this," she explained while motioning to Miles sitting in the chair holding his wound.

"You're serious?" Cloud asked, looking bemused.

"He might be able to help us," Tifa suggested. Although she would never forgive Miles for lying to her, she didn't want to see him suffer like this. Plus, he was the last one to see Chloe.

Cloud sighed, she made a good argument. He walked over closer to Miles to use his cure materia.

Miles smiled at Tifa. "Thank you, I knew the last few months must have meant something to you too," he commented, then glanced over at Cloud with an evil smile on his face.

Cloud glared at Miles silently as he healed the scientist.

"Don't push your luck," Tifa said, scolding the man. "I'm still mad you that lied to me, and after we get Chloe back, I never want to see you again."

By now the cure spelled had passed over Miles, and with his wound mostly healed, he was feeling better.

Seeing the look of anger on Tifa's face, Miles' grin disappeared. "I think I might know where they are," he informed Tifa, trying to make amends.

Miles was about to walk around the desk when the window next to him suddenly shattered and Genesis came flying towards the scientist with his sword raised. Grabbing hold of his shirt, Genesis pinned Miles' back on the desk, forcing him down. With his sword to Miles' neck, Genesis glared at the scientist.

A look of horror appeared on Miles' face as Genesis pressed the sword a little deeper against his throat. He wanted to speak but the sword was so tight he was afraid it would cut him if he tried.

Cloud was standing next to Tifa with his sword raised as a precaution.

"Genesis, what's wrong?" Tifa asked her friend.

"He tried to poison me," the winged man said through clenched teeth while still glaring at Miles.

Tifa was shocked to hear this. She frowned at Miles who was looking over at her as if begging for her help.

"Any last words?" Genesis asked, releasing the sword a little so the man could talk.

"It was Weiss' idea," Miles explained franticly. "He's possessed by Hojo."

Genesis looked over at Tifa to confirm this accusation.

"He has Chloe," Tifa informed Genesis with a worried expression.

"That's still no excuse for betraying me," Genesis said to Miles as he pressed the sword back against his throat.

"Please, Genesis," Tifa said, putting her hand on his arm. "He's the only one who knows where to find Chloe."

Genesis' furious expression softened as Tifa looked at him with her big brown eyes. The last thing he wanted to do was upset her; she had a way with people he couldn't explain. Genesis looked down and gave Miles one last threatening glare before released the sword from his neck.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Miles put his hand around his neck checking it for blood before pushing himself off the desk.

"This is not over," Genesis warned Miles. "Once we find Weiss and Chloe, we'll finish this."

Cloud couldn't help but grin as he watched the scene between Genesis and Miles unfolded.

"Where are they?" Tifa asked Miles, eagerly.

Miles stopped to think. "Weiss, err, Hojo is going to the laboratory and he has both keycards."

"We have one," Tifa informed Miles and they all exited the office towards the elevator.

*****

The battle on the ground was beginning to look grim. Not only did the army outnumber them, they were also equipped with powerful weapons and materia. Not to mention the giant robot. At least Cid was doing a good job distracting the robot so that was one less thing they had to worry about.

Yuffie looked around at her teammates. Barret and Nanakin appeared battered and exhausted. Even Vincent looked a little weary in his chaos form and Yuffie was having difficulty conjuring the strength needed to use her materia. She recast a magic barrier on the group just before the opposition cast an ice spell on Nanakin, preventing more damage.

"Please," Yuffie said out loud to her ancestral deities. "If you help us out, I promise to never say anything to jinx us again..." She stopped to throw her conformer at an opponent then continued her prayer. "And I promise to visit the temple every year," she added.

Suddenly, two attackers managed to dodge Nanakin's fire spell and rushed Yuffie. They raised their guns to fire, but before they could pull the trigger, James came crashing down on top of them with his big sword.

Thinking he was the enemy, Barret aimed his arm at the big man, but Alex and Katerina came running up towards him.

"Don't shoot!" Alex called. "We're here to help!"

"Tifa sent us," Katerina added as she attacked a renegade armed with a sword.

"Can't you order them to stop?" Barret asked, lowering his gun arm away from James.

Alex laughed. "They don't know who we are," he explained as he sliced the man across the chest.

With the extra help, the battle was starting to turn in their favor. They were more than half way through the group of assailants when Alex, who was closest to the robot, heard the Shera fly overhead. When he looked up, he was sure he saw something small fall out of the airship and land on the machine.

"What is it?" Katerina asked, noticing Alex gazing upwards.

"I thought I just saw a cat fly out of that airship," he answered, looking over at her bewildered.

"Do you get hit over the head?" Katerina asked, looking at him like he was crazy.

The group continued fighting and the number of remaining enemies were starting to decline. Then, a loud explosion could be heard from above. They all looked up to see that a piece of the robot's chest had been blown off. The large piece of metal came crashing down towards them followed by some debris and Cait Sith landing on his feet.

"See, I'm not crazy," Alex told Katerina just as he dodged a large section of falling metal.

"What is that thing?" Katerina asked, wondering if it was friend or foe.

"That's Cait Sith, he's with us," Yuffie yelled over to Katerina after catching her conformer.

"Cait Sith number 6 at your service," the mechanical cat introduced himself, giving a little bow.

As they finished off the last group of enemies, Alex stopped what he was doing when he noticed the Shera fire a weapon at the robot, successfully hitting it. Then Alex looked and watched as the airship did a small lap around the robot before it readied its weapons.

Knowing what was coming next, Alex alerted the others. "Guys!" he called out to his friends. "That airship's doing that thing again!"

*****

Five Minutes Earlier...

After Cait Sith exited the airship, Reeve, Cid and the Turks watched as he scurried down the robot and onto the robot's chest plate. Using Cid's lighter, the toy cat lit the stick of dynamite and dropped it into a small opening then quickly scurried towards the robot's shoulder area.

When the TNT detonated, the blast caused the plate to fly off the robot onto the ground below. The tremor from the blast also caused Cait Sith to lose his balance and fall.

The distraction allowed Cid a chance to fire a weapon at the robot to see if the shield had been destroyed. The projectiles hit and after the smoked cleared, they could see the robot was slightly damaged.

"Cid, I think it's time to bring out the big guns," Reno informed the captain who smiled in response, knowing exactly what the redhead was referring to.

Cid looked down at a crew member manning the controls to the right of him. "Ready the weapons," he called out.

The crew member franticly started to press buttons arming all the weapons on the airship. After a few seconds, the crew member turned to look at his captain.

"Armed and ready sir," the man informed him.

Cid reached into his pocket to pull out a cigarette. Everyone stood silently as they watching the pilot franticly search all his pockets for a lighter. Realizing he didn't have one, he looked down at the group below.

"Little help?" he asked.

Reno reached into his jacket pocket, pulled out a lighter and threw it up to Cid. The captain lit his cigarette and took a long drag before letting out a smoke-filled sigh of relief.

"Fire!" Cid ordered his crew member who launched all the weapons.

Instantly all the airships' weapons discharged simultaneously, bombarding the robot in an explosion of fire. After what felt like minutes, the projectiles ceased firing and the smoke cleared.

"I can never get tired of watching that," Reno commented to Rude as he watched the destruction.

Most of the robot's exoskeleton was either destroyed or in pieces on the ground. With the base of the robot no longer unable to stand, the defeated machine toppled into the WRO building behind it. The force of the impact caused the building to shake rapidly and damage the bottom five floors it crashed onto.

The Shera circled the robot's remains as it waited for the dust to settle to assess the damages. After seeing that the robot had crashed into the building, they just hope there was no one harmed in the wreckage.


	30. Chapter 30

 

Hojo entered the laboratory holding the now fully awake child. She was a little startled at first but recognizing Weiss, she quickly calmed down.

As Hojo surveyed the room, he was not impressed. Miles was right, this was a sorry excuse for a laboratory. It was a large room with the back wall covered in shelving full of mineral samples. To the far-left side of the was an empty mako chamber and work station covered in various sized test tubes, vials, and beakers. On the right side of the room was a SND machine consisting of a big metal chair connected to a helmet hanging above it. Next to it was a computer desk with a chair and a desktop computer surrounded by papers and random clutter.

Hojo shut the door behind him and put the child. He walked over to the SND device and turned it on to allow time for it to power up. Then he walked over to the computer and sat down at the desk while he programed the device and logged onto the World Wide Network.

If everything goes according to plan, he should be able to locate Jenova's consciousness on the WWN and finally give it a vessel worthy of its power. The child was the perfect choice since it was a carbon copy of project S and was the only thing that could come close to his Sephiroth. By his calculations, this child would be almost full grown in a year or two allowing Jenova enough time to grow accustomed to its new body. Once strong enough, it will use its knowledge to finally complete the task it started when it crashed into this planet hundreds of years ago.

Although his plan would mean the destruction of the planet and all life on it, he didn't care. Being a scientist, it was more important for him to see his experiments to the very end like he tried to do with Sephiroth and Omega. In this case, Jenova's triumph would be his living legacy, and as they always say, once a scientist always a scientist.

As soon as Hojo logged onto the WWN, he looked over at the girl who was playing with some of the rocks in the far back corner of the room. He walked over and picked her up, carrying her to the SND device. He sat her down, but she didn't sit for long and struggled to get up, wanting to go back to the rocks. While holding the girl down with one hand, Hojo looked around for something to use to restrain her. Seeing some wiring on the nearby computer desk, he used it to restrain her arms to the chair. Chloe started to cry loudly while struggling to break free.

"Shut up!" Hojo shouted at the girl, growing impatient.

He took the helmet and placed it over her head. Being a child, the helmet was loose and covered her face from her mouth up. With the helmet on, Chloe started shaking her head and squirmed trying to get it off. After a short period of thrashing and fighting she realized she was trapped and finally gave up struggling but continued to cry and whimper.

As soon as the device was ready, Hojo walked over and activated the switch turning it on.

*****

When Tifa and the others entered the 37th floor hallway the first thing she could hear was her daughter crying. Hearing her daughter in distress, a wave of rage and adrenaline rushed over Tifa. She sprinted towards the laboratory entrance and burst through the door. Inside, she found her daughter strapped to a chair with a helmet covering her head and face. Standing next to her daughter was Weiss.

Upon seeing Tifa, Weiss unsheathed his katanas. Tifa raised her fists just as Cloud and Genesis came up from behind her with their swords raised. Miles stayed behind them, keeping a distance from all the action.

"You're too late," Hojo said to the group, aiming one of his gun blades.

Without saying a word, Cloud and Genesis rushed the man with their swords raised. Just when they were about to reach their target, Weiss avoided their attacks with lightning fast speed. He was so fast Genesis and Cloud couldn't even focus on him when he moved. They stopped in their tracks looking around but before they realized what happened, Weiss was standing next to them with his gun blades aimed at each of their heads. He fired at the two, but Genesis and Cloud jumped back just managing to dodge his bullets.

"You fools," Hojo said with an evil grin. "You two are no match for this body," he warned them.

Suddenly, a burst light came from Weiss' direction causing everyone to take a step back shielding their eyes. When the light was gone, they looked to see that he had transformed into a seven-foot-tall white and metallic looking monster with wings coming out of its back. Like Vincent in his Chaos form, he looked like a mix between Weiss and Omega. He had three big metal spikes covering the top of his head and eyes. His long white spiky hair extended down his back. His wings looked like a mix of metal and feathers with the outer structure of the wing made of metal and the rest of the wing covered in big white feathers. His shoulders, chest, torso and legs were now covered in metal armor. He was still holding his gun blades which had grown larger, longer, and glowed a neon blue.

Cloud and Genesis looked at one another then charged at the Weiss-Omega hybrid without skipping a beat. This time the monster effortlessly blocked their attacks simultaneously with his two katanas. It then forcefully countered their attack before sending them flying backwards towards the back of the room. Both Genesis and Cloud landed on their feet and immediately charged at the monster again.

As soon as the three started fighting, Tifa ran over to her daughter to take off the helmet.

"No wait," Miles said, just before Tifa touched the device. He ran up next to her. "Her consciousness is still connected to the network. You need to shut it down first." Miles walked over to the computer and started to type on the keyboard.

While Miles was typing, Tifa looked back to check on Cloud and Genesis. As soon as she turned, she witnessed the two being thrown across the room crashing into the shelving full of mineral samples.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, the Omega monster appeared behind Miles and drove his katana into Miles' back. The tip of his sword hit the computer screen cracking it while blood splattered over the screen and desk.

"I'm not going to let you ruin my plan that easily," the creature said to Miles as he pushed the sword deeper.

Miles let out a cry of pain, falling onto his knees as the monster pulled the gun blade out of his body.

The creature grinned evilly at Tifa as she tried to punch him, but he easily dodged her attack. He tried to counter by striking her with his sword, but she jumped backwards before he could get a hit in. He did manage to graze her arm causing long deep cut across her bicep. Tifa was now standing a few feet in front of him, holding her upper right arm.

By now Cloud and Genesis were rising from the wreckage on the other side of the room. Seeing Tifa standing in front of the monster with its weapon pointed at her, Cloud grabbed his sword ready to fight.

Before Tifa could react, the monster fired at her. She tried to dodge the bullet, but she wasn't fast enough, and it hit her left shoulder. She let out a cry of pain as she clutched her gunshot wound.

Hojo was growing frustrated. No matter how much he tried, this girl just won't die. Angry his shot missed, he raised his sword again.

Seeing Tifa injured and in danger, a wave a rage rushed over Cloud. Infuriated, he griped his sword tight and ran over to save her before it was too late. Before Hojo could react, Cloud rushed him with a series of fifteen powerful strikes at lighting fast speed. They were too fast for even the monster to block and he just stood there paralyzed as he was bombarded by Cloud's omnislash attack.

Once the attack was over, the monster fell to its knees. It transformed back to Weiss before collapsing to the ground, alive but unconsciousness.

Seeing he was no longer a threat, Cloud looked over at Tifa who was holding her bleeding wound. He then used his cure materia to heal her.

"Chloe!" Tifa said, turning to her. Realizing Weiss was no longer a threat she rushed over to her daughter's side.

Chloe was crying and whimpering the whole time but hearing her mother's voice made her cry harder as began struggling to free herself. The child's wrists looked sore from struggling against the restraints which infuriated Tifa. She wanted nothing more than to rip the helmet off Chloe, but the machine was still on and heeding Miles' warning earlier, she hesitated, not sure what to do.

"It's okay sweetie, mommy's here," Tifa said, trying to calm the girl down so she wouldn't struggle. "We'll get you out of there."

Tifa looked down at the wounded Miles on the floor then she looked over at the computer. By now Genesis was standing near Cloud. Tifa turned to ask them if they knew how to turn off the device, but before she could say anything, the building started to shake violently like it was in an earthquake. The first tremor only lasted a few seconds. Tifa could hear what sounded like an explosion outside, then suddenly, the whole room shook violently and the lights around them went dark. With the power gone, the emergency lights were activated and illuminated the exit. It felt like the room had shifted a little and most of the laboratory equipment was in disarray.

With the power off, Tifa lifted off Chloe's helmet before untying her restraints. Cloud walked over to the two just as Tifa was picking her daughter up. Chloe gave her mother a big hug, still crying.

Cloud watched as the two embraced. After a few seconds, the girl was starting to calm down except for the odd sob. Noticing Cloud, the girl looked over at him with her blue mako eyes. Cloud smiled at the girl as she studied him, and after a few seconds, the girl smiled a little back.

Tifa was still holding Chloe when she heard Miles cough. She looked over to see him still lying on the floor with the broken computer next to him and the desk on top of his legs. She looked at Cloud who knew what she was thinking. Cloud handed her his cure materia as Tifa handed him their daughter.

Tifa went over to Miles and lifted the computer desk off his legs. A pool of blood had formed around him and even in the dim light, she could tell he was pale and near death. She tried to use the cure materia, but his injuries were too severe.

Noticing Tifa kneeling next to him, Miles looked up at her.

"Is she okay?" Miles asked her.

"Yes," Tifa informed him. Despite everything he had done to her in the past, she didn't want to see him die.

"I'm sorry, Tifa," Miles said, then he closed his eyes as a wave of pain rushed over him. "I hope you forgive—"

"Don't talk like that," Tifa said, cutting him off as her eyes started to tear up. She tried to use the cure materia again, but it was too late. She silently watched as the life left his eyes and he was gone.

Closing his eyes, Tifa took as few seconds to say goodbye, then stood up and walked over to Cloud and Chloe. They were both watching her with the same serious expression.

Genesis was standing a few feet behind them and Tifa could see him looking around. That's when she also noticed that something was missing.

"Weiss is gone," the winged man informed them.

Cloud turned around to look at the spot where Weiss collapsed, then he turned to Genesis. "He must have escaped when the building started to shake," he suggested.

"I wonder what he was trying to do with Chloe," Tifa said, walking over to her daughter and brushing the hair out of her eyes. Surprisingly, Chloe seemed content with Cloud holding her considering this was their first encounter.

When they exited the laboratory, most of building's windows were shattered and the light fixtures were hanging from the ceiling. Still holding his daughter, Cloud walked over to the window and looked down to see that the robot was destroyed, and its remains had collided into the building. Given the destruction below, they decided to use the stairwell located on the opposite side of the building.

When they exited, the sun was just starting to rise over the city. They immediately found their friends near the entrance with everyone looking exhausted. Seeing Cloud and Tifa exit the building, Yuffie looked relieved.

"We were just about to go in searching for you two," Yuffie said, running ahead of the others to greet them. "Glad to see you are okay." Noticing the child in Cloud's arms, Yuffie smiled at the girl. "Is this Chloe?" she asked surprised to see the girl was so big.

Cloud nodded.

"She's adorable!" Yuffie exclaimed, fawning over the girl. "I'm aunty Yuffie," she said to Chloe leaning over to face the girl. Chloe just looked at her blankly not sure what to think.

A moment later Barret, Vincent, Alex, Katerina, and James walked over to greet their friends.

"What the hell happened to ya?" Alex asked the winged man who was standing next to Tifa. "We were worried Miles did something."

"He tried," Genesis informed them.

"What happened to him and Weiss?" James asked, looking around.

"Miles is dead and Weiss...I'll explain later," Genesis said to the three. He really didn't feel like going into details now.

"What are you going to do now?" Tifa asked Genesis. Now that she found out the truth about her past, she knew her home was here in Edge with Cloud. Although part of her was going to miss the little house near Mideel.

"I going to call off the raid on the Junon headquarters and warned them about Weiss," Genesis explained. "Then I'm going to hunt him down and try to rid him of his curse."

"I'll meet you in Junon," Genesis told his three associates. He looked over at Tifa and nodded before taking off into the air.

Katerina said bye to Chloe and Tifa before turning to her comrades. Knowing they had a long road ahead of them, the trio started on their journey.

As they were walking away James looked over at his friends. "We're not walking all the way to Junon are we?" he asked them. He was already tired and Junon was a long walk. "We're going to steal another airship, right?"

"Shut up!" Alex whispered quietly, he quickly looked back at the group, then turned to James. "They can still hear you!" he stressed to his friend as they walked towards the city's outskirts.

Meanwhile, the others called Cid to get an update on the situation. They agreed to go meet Cid and the others in the airfield.

"Chloe's probably hungry. I should get her something to eat," Tifa said to Cloud. Although she wanted to help the others, her daughter was her priority.

"I'm hungry too," Yuffie said to Tifa. "I know where there's a twenty-four hour store on the other side of town. Want me to show you?"

Tifa nodded and took Chloe from Cloud. The three females, and Nanakin, made their way towards the shop leaving the three men.

"Meet us at the heaven for some breakfast!" Yuffie called back to the men before turning and catching up to the others.

Knowing they still had a long day ahead of them, Barret, Vincent and Cloud took a short break before making their way to meet Cid and the others in the airfield.


	31. Chapter 31

It was a month later and Tifa was starting to feel settled. Being in her real home, she couldn't believe how many people she knew and how many missed her. Even before she reopened the bar, people dropped in everyday to visit and catch up. She still did not remember any of them, but thankfully Cloud was there to help.

As the weeks past, interacting with her friends and being back at home caused memories to slowly return little by little, but she knew it was going to take time. She realized that she might never recover all of them, but it made her appreciate the memories she was lucky enough to have.

The last four weeks with Cloud and Chloe she had never felt happier. After the first week, Barret brought Denzel and Marlene to the house. They were so happy to see Tifa, they never let her out of their sight. She didn't remember them, but she tried not to let it ruin their excitement.

The two children got along exceptionally well with Chloe who was getting bigger every day. This was the first time she was able to play with fellow children and was finally starting to talk a little. She was surprised that Chloe was able to keep up with children who were so much older than her.

Cloud and Chloe were also making up for lost time. It was like the child knew who Cloud was, she would follow him around everywhere and tried to mimic everything he did. They had no idea what Hojo tried to do to her, but they could only assume that they stopped it in time.

It was a slow process, but the reconstruction of Edge's business district was going smoothly. Reeve had been focusing all his time and energy on rebuilding Edge. Tifa and the others were unsure what his plans were after the reconstruction efforts were completed. When he last stopped in for a visit, he did mention that he had plans for Edge to have a democratically elected government, like Junon, but they were unsure what his role would be. They figured they would find out soon enough.

Tifa had not heard from Genesis and the others since that day. As Genesis promised, the remaining Deepground members pulled out of Junon and there had been no sign of them since. She couldn't help but wonder if they found Weiss and if they were able to help him. From what Cloud told her about Hojo, she feared that as long as he was free to roam the planet, this would not be the last they have seen of him.

Despite all her concerns, Tifa was not going to let it prevent her from enjoying every moment with her friends and family. Being stripped of all her memories made Tifa realize how precious everyone was to her and she looked forward to creating new memories with them, especially Cloud. Being a positive person, the one thing she kept telling herself was that the amnesia allowed her the opportunity to fall in love with him all over again and she couldn't be happier.

End...


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